Bouncers - 1990s remix

by John Godber

"...it were chuffin' brilliant and you should've been there!"

Bucks Examiner

CAST

LUCKY ERIC . . . . . . MARK OLDKNOW
JUDD . . . . . . . . . . . . DAVID FAREY
RALPH . . . . . . . . . . . . SEBASTIAN VENTURA
LES . . . . . . . . . . . . MATTHEW PHILLIPS

DIRECTOR . . . . . . . . . . . . MARK OLDKNOW
SET DESIGNER  . . . . . . . . . . . . KAREN OGBORN
SOUND & ORIGINAL MUSIC . . . . . . ANDY CHISHOLM
CHOREOGRAPHER . . . . . . . . . . . . CARLA QUELCH
LIGHTING . . . . . . . . . . . . JONATHAN FOWKE
STAGE MANAGER . . . . . . . . . . . . JANE DUTTON
PRODUCER . . . . . . . . . . . . TIM HILL

COPYRIGHT BY JOHN GODBER
COPYRIGHT AGENT: ALAN BRODIE,
ALAN BRODIE REPRESENTATION, 211 PICCADILLY, LONDON, W1V 9LD
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Ally Hill, Jenny Whatley, Paul Wilson, Richard Morris, The Wycombe Swan, and anyone else whose name was not to hand when this list was compiled.

Bouncers takes place in and around Mr Cinders, a northern nightclub and is a play in two acts.

Mark trained at LAMDA (where he won the Evelyn Laye Award for the Most Outstanding Performance in a Musical). He is currently Artistic Director of Tight Fit Theatre and has been seen as Joe Green in the critically acclaimed Separation by Tom Kempinski. Since graduating he has worked in regional theatre, including a season at Harrogate Rep with Andrew Manley where he played, amongst others: John in Oleanna; Voice in the European première of Hot n Throbbing; and Hermann K in Kafka's Dick. He has also directed a large number of productions including Blithe Spirit, MacBeth, Other Places (with Victoria Hamilton), The Winter's Tale and Agnes of God (which was voted critic's choice for 1995 by the Buckinghamshire Advertiser). Mark has worked extensively for local companies and, as Bouncers was performed, was recently seen as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof which he did as a favour to Beaconsfield Operatic Society, he has recently directed The Phoenician Women for the Young Theatre (at Beaconsfield) and is preparing to direct A Midsummer Night's Dream for Chiltern Shakespeare Company in the open air at Hall Barn, Beaconsfield next June. His most recent portrayal was of Simple Simon in Tight Fit Theatre's pantomime, Robin Hood, which he also co-wrote and directed.

Dave graduated in performing arts from De Montfort University last July. Since when he has worked extensively with Tight Fit Theatre on their previous productions as an actor and a co-director. He was seen recently in Wycombe Theatre Company's production of Romeo and Juliet. He has been involved with local companies for a number of years and is currently Group Director of The Young Theatre. Two years ago he founded Pulp Theatre, last summer playing Norman in The Star-Spangled Girl. His performance skills have won him many awards over the years including best actor at the Kenton Drama Festival. Dave's performance as Widow Platt (the Dame) in Robin Hood, the Early Years had to be seen to be believed!

Matthew trained at the Webber Douglas Academy in London. Theatre experience includes Eurovision at the Drill Hall; Macbeth at the Tabbard Theatre; a medway schools tour of Mainstreamers; and the English première of Octoberfest at the Lyric Studio, Hammersmith.

Seb studied at Middlesex University where he gained a 2:1 in Drama and Theatre Studies. Whilst there he performed in several plays including Painter in Timon of Athens; Ken in West; Kaka in The Bundle; and Judd in an adaptation of Bouncers and Shakers. Since graduating, Seb has performed at the Finborough Theatre in a version of Herman Melville's novel Bartelby and has featured in several low budget short films.

About the play .....

As with Godber's other well known work Teechers, there is a serious side to this comedic piece. Whereas Teechers depicts the school system and our attitudes towards public schools in particular, Bouncers seems to poke fun at the idea of "Social Comment".

As relevant today as it was when first published in the early eighties, Bouncers is set in a northern nightclub where the bouncers show and tell the audience how some of the clientele behave before, during, and after their visit to Mr Cinders. There is a scene at the door where several pairs of hopeful male customers try to gain admittance past two of the bouncers. Some succeed, but the reasons for turning away others do not seem logical to the bouncers themselves.

Performed by only four actors, the roles are demanding, to say the least. Each of the four actors plays the part of a bouncer who in turn depicts other young men and women, as the situation demands. The roles-within-the-role vary from lager-lout to nightclub tart.

From an actor's perspective, one of the most difficult aspects of the part comes late in the play when a switch has to be made from the very drunk lager-lout back to a bouncer. Even when acting, the body seems to take a while to sober up.

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