Frome Drama Club’s choice of one act play for the Frome Festival is “The Private Ear” by Sir Peter Shaffer, to be performed 6th – 9th July.
Frome Drama Club says, “The play is set in 1962, long before we relinquished twenty shillings to the pound and twelve pence to the shilling, when the whiff of popular music had already wafted across the Atlantic and started to shake things here to their very foundations and the idea of the “teenager” came along.
“It would be nice to think that Sir Peter had bought his ticket to see this production but, sad to say, even if he had, his recent death has now deprived us of the honour of his visit. Frome Drama Club hopes very much that this small tribute to his great genius will prove a suitable celebration.
“For the director, David Riley, it is a trip down memory lane – partly due to being of a certain age and partly due to being cast in the play rather a long time ago! For the young cast of three – Beth Heath, Pete White and Ed Henderson – it has been a glimpse into an (almost) forgotten world. The majority of school leavers did not go to university but left school at 15 to take up jobs in offices, factories and shops. Young people didn’t have personal telephones or cars, there were no roundabouts on the roads, hardly anybody had a television and what was tuppence ha’penny for goodness sake?!
“There’s Doreen, a young lady from Putney, who has accepted a dinner invitation from a North Country boy she hardly knows. The young lad in question, Bob, is besotted with his music and captivated by Doreen’s beauty. Finally, there’s Ted who swaggers into the picture as the lad-about-town whose job it is to smooth the way for his mate on the occasion of this three-sided dinner date.
“Whether you’re nostalgic for your lost youth, curious about what life was like in the sixties or just want to sit back and enjoy a bittersweet comedy then come along for an hour at 7.45p.m. at the Steiner Academy, Park Road – performances 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th July.
Tickets are available from Frome Festival Box Office Cheese & Grain 01373 455420 www.festivaloffice.co.uk or on the door but please note that seats are limited.
