19th & 20th December 2022

Joe Carpenter

Three performances of Joe Carpenter by the Ruan Revellers on the 19th and 20^th December transformed our Village Hall. People poured in to be entertained and transported to  ?  well – Ruan Minor  and Cadgwith – to witness Graham Clarke’s enchanting Nativity Story.

The full list of everyone involved can be found at the end of this article but of course this was Angela Agutter’s finest hour from start to finish. The sets were fantastic and  a  huge  thank  you  to  Simon  Bradley,  Paul  Collins  and  Frank  Greorge. The costumes really were amazing and Wendy Elliott and Jean Trimble put a massive amount of effort into ensuring everyone looked their part and had all the props they needed. There was brilliant music, as we have come to expect, from our talented local musicians: Robin Bates, Jonathan Coudrille and Jeremy Wootliff. Between the three of them they managed to sound like a full blown orchestra!

Play Master Jonathan Fletcher kept the whole show on course and with so much happening that was quite a task. Frank George and Jan Halliday as Joseph and Mary did a grand job and delicately got across the irony of their predicament! Jean Trimble as the Angel Gabriel/local postman, managed to ‘deliver’ an outstanding performance whilst manhandling a bicycle at the same time, no mean feat!

The real show stealers were the enchanting, heavenly host of angels: Isla and Genevieve Bosustow, Hazel Strickland and Summer-Rose Pollard, see the photo in the gallery below. In the theatrical world they say you shouldn’t work with children or animals, no such problems for Joe. The children were brilliant and the animals stuffed! The women bore the brunt, Mary Keeley as Jill Shepherd had a splendid sheep, however the star was undoubtedly Humphrey the Camel who gave Janet Gascgoine a hard time, but she dealt with him admirably – well done Debra Katz!

James Bosustow and Nicky Jose as Landlord and Landlady kept the tempo going with great drinking songs and merriment making even the offer of stable accommodation inviting. See the colour photo in the gallery below.

The Three Kings were very noble and  their costumes splendid. It was a surprise to find out that one came from Birmingham, one from Wales and that the other was in fact King Charles III – perhaps a part of his new role he wasn’t expecting! What can’t be denied is how richly they sang together, well done to L-R above, Anthony Richards, Paul Collins and Brian Jenkins.

Magic isn’t what you normally expect in a nativity play but Simon Bradley literally pulled it out of the box. He never disappoints and it really was an hysterical interlude – he was ably assisted by his very Glamorous Assistant Jill Thomas.

Special thanks to Claire Bollard in The Store who was not only the ticket office but also donated the ice cream served in the interval.

It was very special to have a Christmas Production in our Village Hall in the close run up to the festive season. It was a truly enchanting production which captured the essence of the Nativity story, and so much more, in verse and song. There were well known Christmas Carols for everyone to join in with as well as other songs, all accompanied beautifully by the musicians. ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas” – or thirteen in this case – was never sung so quickly and who knew there were all those actions to go with it – you learn something every day! It was a fantastic finale. The costumes, props and attention to detail really were remarkable. It was extremely funny when it needed to be but there were also poignant moments – such as ‘Oh Holy Night’ sung by Anthony Richards as Old Jack Shepherd, very special.

There have been rumours that this was going to be Angela’s last production. After such a success  – Never Say Never!