The Children’s Hour

The director, Jenny Gore, writes:

‘Lillian Hellman’s play, The Children’s Hour, first published in 1934, is about a girl who spreads a story that two of the teachers at her boarding school have an ‘unnatural’ attachment to one another. At the time the play was so scandalous that actresses refused to take the two leading parts for fear of the police closing the theatre mid-performance. Nowadays, happily, attitudes have changed for the better, but the play remains a powerful drama which is less about lesbianism than about the tragic results of a lie.
        
‘We have a strong cast which includes seven talented schoolgirls, aged between 11 and 15, and five other splendid actors, who are experienced past performers with the theatre.  Phoebe Farrington and Rachel Peter have been seen frequently in the past year and were both tapping away in Stepping Out, but this time take serious leading parts. Kate Leslie has made a welcome return to our stage after a ‘rest’ of several years, and Maddie Cullinane has once again emerged from the wardrobe department to tread the boards. Richard Holley, last seen in Time of My Life is back again as a tormented fiancé, and young Louis Graham has a walk-on part as the Grocery Boy.
        
‘The Children’s Hour is a complex play in three acts, but rehearsals are going well, and we look forward to large audiences who enjoy a strong and thought-provoking drama. The play runs from 13-18 June. We are sorry but there will be no matinee performance this time, because of the law restricting child actors to no more than six consecutive performances.’

Read-through: Moonlight and Magnolias

Hanna Stow has called a read-through for the October play, Moonlight and Magnolias, which she will be directing, for Sunday 3 July, 7.30pm. This is a terrific four-hander about a last minute re-write of the screenplay of Gone With The Wind. Hannah is looking to cast three male characters (in real-life, aged 37, 44 and 50), and a slightly younger woman. American accents are a must!The play runs from 3-8 October.