The Play's the Thing...

By the late 1970s, dramas had become a fun part of the interpretive package during the summers. Mrs. Roberts entertaining Mr. Chiles for tea or lemonade; Mr. Adams, the quarterman, dealing with a recalcitrant sailor in the dockyard; taking attendance in the muster. These short dramas provided some extra interest to the tours. And once in a while some entertainment to bored interpreters. Occasionally though, more complex plays were created, such as this one from the summer of 1981:

During rehearsal

Cast photo

The pictures and the following synopsis are both from former interpreter Andrew Wilson: 

The production, as you can tell by the cast photo, was a serious exploration of navy justice penned and directed by Frank Milligan with the assistance of Stephen Hartnell. The play starred Andrew Wilson, whose understated interpretation of navy prosecutor, Lieutenant Jackson, was brilliant. Also starring in the Warehouse theatre production were the two Davids, Hamilton and Moore: the former as the simple, misunderstood sailor, Pye and the latter as the ineffectual, though well-meaning, Captain Roberts. Mr. Chiles was well-played in all his dapper efficiency by Brad Davis. The supporting cast and crew included: two serious representatives of the soldier ranks, Gary Abrams and Dwayne Benjamin; renowned sailor, Eddy Tonus; saucy interpreters, Hilde Berends, Penny Bedal, Claudette Belcourt, Elizabeth Kerr, Janet LeCamp; and for musical accompaniment, a bare-footed troubadour [Jim McMillan].

Hmm, we seem to be missing something... the title of the play! We thought it would be fun to see who remembers what it was called. The legend lived on after it was produced, so you don't have to have been an interpreter in the summer of 1981 to have heard of it. If you think you remember, let us know in the comments below.

Going back a little farther, here we have not so much a play, as playing...

The HNME Rockettes?

Thanks again to Geraldine (St. Amant) Brewer for this photo of what looks like an especially fun staff training session! And aren't those tour guide dresses stylish? Do you recognize yourself or someone you worked with in this photo? Perhaps from the uniform, you can pinpoint the year. Again, leave your guesses in the comments section. 

In the meantime, we're working on another blog post with some news!