<The following
article appeared in the Woking News and Mail during February 1938>
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“THE ISLAND OF BALKIS”
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Central School Scholars Entertain
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A fairy operetta,
“The Island of Balkis”, was charmingly presented by the pupils of West Byfleet
Central School
on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The scholars
acted and sang with ability and confidence.
Mr. C.V. Jenkins (the headmaster) had charge of the production with
members of the staff. The operetta,
according to the programme, was ‘founded
on a yarn told by Richard Ethelbert Arizona
Cholmondeley Martineau Bunce, junior midshipman of His Majesty’s first class
destroyer “Methusaleh”.’. The story was overheard by Diana Beckett and
was set to music by C. Lloyd Stafford.
Valuable
assistance was given by Mrs. Choate (who made the princesses’ dresses), Miss.
O. Grixoni (arranged and taught the dances), Mr. D. Howells (loan of costumes),
Mr. A. Long (electrical effects), Mr. A.W. Stollery
(material for stage curtains), Mr. R.H. Taft (canvas for proscenium) and Mrs.
Boon (for making the costumes). The
attractive curtain was designed and executed at the school, together with the costumes
of the fairies and courtiers.
The
characters were portrayed as follows: A. Hellard (Prince Ittleheim, Chancellor
of Balkis), E. Adams. E. Gosling, B. west, J.
Dowell, B. Choate and P. Froome (his six daughters); H. Wren (Billy
Fortunatoes, chief aviator); H. Cole (Dickie Bunce, midshipman), J. Woodhouse
(Desire, a Fairy Queen), K. Hornibrook (Dinah, a maid); J. Hooker (Ragger
Robin, a boot boy); S. Boon (Ariel, a Fairy Queen’s attendant); V. Batterseby,
B. Baxter, M. Britten, T. Barnes, N. Crouch, D. Deedman, M. Hobbs, B. Hughes,
P. Lamdin, J. Oliver, A. Pullen, S. Pethybridge, S. Saunders, A. Smith, J.
Simmons, A. Simpson, I. Tilley, T. Crossman, D. Galloway, R. Quantrell, A.
Woodhouse and A. Rudram (courtiers); J. Elms, C. Ely, A. Froome, D. Ganson, W,
Mathis, A. Peters, R. Poole and J. Warrell (aviators); H. Daniels, J. Hooker,
P. James, B. Khaan, B. Miller, A. Murrells, D. Morrison, P. Pratt, D. Stanley,
A. Topp, K. White and E. Willis (fairies); J. Hellard, E. White and H. Ward
(elves).
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