"The War of the Worlds" by Howard E Koch (30 Mar - 2 Apr 2022)
Poster
It is 30 October 1938. The medium of radio is a shiny new button, a live experiment. 2% of the American public tune in to CBS’s ongoing presentation of radio plays by Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre on the Air. Of that 2%, quite a few tune in late and earnestly believe that the sky is falling, or rather, that aliens are falling from the sky. They don’t take it well.
When we commenced our rehearsal process with Orson and his invasion hoax, we saw a myriad of parallels with the ‘invasion’ of COVID-19 and felt the inevitable spectre of ‘Fake News’. None of us imagined that a few weeks in, Russia would invade Ukraine. The parallels to this new invasion were impossible to ignore, nor did we want to. We are donating all proceeds to the Disasters Emergency Committee for Ukraine. Here’s to an end to all invasions… We invite you to enjoy the show as our studio audience. The year is 1938. Or, perhaps, 1939. Either way, the Martians are coming, so hold on to your seats… |
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Reviews and Articles |
"Fantastic production. And pleased to be part of the audience and the contribution to Ukraine" Derek B 
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CastNorma, Switchboard Supervisor (Bryony Wilman)
Cooper, CBS Producer (Tony Traxler) Marian, Telephonist (Lucy Dargahi) Joan, Studio Engineer (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze) Betty, Spot FX operator (Christine Lee) Norma’s Mother (Sue Darrieulat) Callers (Sue Shorter, Tony Traxler, Rachel Fay, Elizabeth Ollier, Sue Darrieulat) Announcers (David Burles, Arabella Harcourt-Cooze, Christine Lee) Orson Welles (Deesh Mariwala) Carla Phillips, Commentator (Elizabeth Ollier) Professor Pierson, An Eminent Astronomer (Neil Dickins) Police (Rachel Fay) Mr Wilmuth, Farm Owner (Chris Jones) Gen Montgomery Smith (Deesh Mariwala) Harry Mcdonald, Vice President Operations (David Burles) Capt Lansing, Signal Corps (Christine Lee) Secretary of the Interior (Sue Darrieulat) Fred Lingstrom, Commentator (Chris Jones) Sylvia Tavistock, Commentator (Arabella Harcourt-Cooze) Myrtle Jacobs, Commentator (Rachel Fay) Hazel Bradshaw, Commentator (Sue Darrieulat) Field Artillery Team (David Burles, Arabella Harcourt-Cooze, Christine Lee) Lieutenant Voght, Bomber Pilot (Deesh Mariwala) Army Communications Operators (Elizabeth Ollier, Rachel Fay, Sue Darrieulat, Arabella Harcourt-Cooze, Chris Jones) CBS Announcer (Tony Traxler) Stranger (Elizabeth Ollier) Foley Artists (Rachel Fay, Christine Lee, Neil Dickins) |
CrewDirector (Allison DeFrees)
Assistant Director (Paul Smith) Additional Writing (Cecilia Coleshaw) Production (Chris Hulatt) Costumes (Bryony Wilman and the Cast) Set Design (Bethany Smith) Lighting and Sound (Ian Trowbridge) Set Building and Props (Chris Hulatt and Cast) Make Up (Cast) Publicity, Pictures (Lucy Dargahi, Flora Barker) Front of House (Members & Friends of St Michael's Players) |
