Love and theft in Bacup show
IN this week’s Memory Lane feature we take a look at a play staged in Bacup by an amateur operatic and dramatic group.
Nostalgia contributor Peter Fisher has sent us a selection of pictures from the performance of Our Miss Gibbs. This musical play was performed by Bacup Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society at the Empire Theatre.
It was on in the week commencing Monday, April 30, 1951, for six nights at 7.15pm, with a Saturday matinee at 2.15pm.
The play tells the story of Miss Gibbs, a shop assistant at Garrod’s Stores. Lord Eynsford, pretending to be another man called Harry Lancaster, falls in love with her.
Meanwhile Lady Betty, who is engaged to Lord Eynsford, loves the Hon Hughie Pierepoint.
When Miss Gibbs discovers Lord Eynsford is not Harry Lancaster, she refuses to marry him, and Lady Betty also breaks off her engagement to him.
Meanwhile, Mary’s cousin Tim, visiting from Yorkshire, meets Hughie, who has just taken the Ascot Cup from the Earl of St Ives’ country seat.
Tim takes the wrong bag when he leaves, accidentally picking up Hughie’s, and finds he now has the cup. Slithers, a professional burglar, sees the cup and assumes that Tim is also a burglar.
He tells Tim to put the cup in the Garrod’s Stores safety deposit box, but Slithers has the key and swipes the cup for himself.
As this is going on, Beavis, the solicitor to the Earl of St Ives, is commissioned to interview Mary to persuade her to give up Lord Eynsford, then Mr Amalfy, director general of the White City, holds a reception, to which the Earl of St Ives is invited.
The Earl is introduced to Mary and her cousin Tim, and mentions that he lost the Ascot Cup. Tim is frightened, so disguises himself as a bath chair attendant, then as a marathon runner.
Finally the cup is taken from Slithers by Hughie Pierepoint, and Mary is reconciled with Lord Eynsford, so all ends well.
Our first picture of the week (above left) shows the show’s dancers.
From left are Beryl Heap, Ruth Whitworth, Shirley Thornhill, Hilary Taylor, Margaret Mitchell, Glenda Heap, Jean Greenwood, Frances Pollard, Eileen Whittaker and Jean Mitchell.
Above right is a snap of Kathleen Beeby as Miss Gibbs. Below that is Arthur Ormerod as Lord Eynsford.
Underneath (centre right) is a collage of the ladies and gentlemen of the chorus.
We then have a picture showing the front of the souvenir programme for the show (bottom right).
Finally we have pictures of honorary musical director James Hoyle (immediately right) and producer Harry Crossley (second right). If these pictures bring back memories, or you have any of your own to share, please get in touch with the newsdesk. Many thanks to all our regular nostalgia contributors.