When We Are Married

www.hblt.co.uk

In December the Little Theatre returns to a regular programme, starting with When We Are Married, by J.B. Priestley, which was originally part of the theatre’s abandoned 2020 Season. Priestley’s most popular play is a wonderful comedy, full of larger than life characters, depicting the snobbery and pomposity of the North Country nouveau riche, and how this is punctured by a startling and unsettling revelation.

The Parkers, the Helliwells and the Soppitts, are highly respected pillars of their community. Married on the

same day 25 years earlier, they gather to celebrate this auspicious occasion, only to discover that the vicar wasn’t licensed, and they have been ‘living in sin’ all these years.

Not only does this discovery undermine the couples’ sense of moral certainty, but it even threatens to tear apart their apparently solid, ‘respectable’ marriages.

Director Ray Riches has chosen this perennial favourite as the first full length play after the pandemic. The play has a large cast of fourteen, and we are delighted to welcome many new faces.

The parts of Ruby Birtle, Nancy Holmes, Fred Dyson, and Henry Ormonroyd, are played by newcomers Kate Shackleton, Victoria Few, Rohan Blinkhorn-Cook, and Michael Griffiths. Ray is pleased to have a really strong cast, with a good mix of talent and experience. Rehearsals are gearing up in the final couple of weeks, and the actors are tackling their parts with energy and enthusiasm. The backstage crew features the all-new lighting and sound team who did such a magnificent job on the one act comedy, The Extraordinary Revelations of Orca the Goldfish, in October.

This new team of technicians, consisting of George Buswell, Charles Price, and Sylvia and Sandra Van Empel, joined us following our Open Day in August.

Ray is confident that cast and crew will produce a night of first class entertain-ment. The play runs from Monday to Saturday, 6-11 December 2021. If you prefer to socially distance, the Wednesday performance has reduced seating, with only 50% of seats available. Get your tickets now, online at www.hblt.co.uk, or in person, at Innovation, Hebden Bridge.

Rehearsal pictures by

Stuart Hought.