I am sure you will agree that the cast of the 2013 mid-year show did us  proud, with well attended shows through the run. We had so many wonderful  comments around the set, with everyone saying that it was a thing of beauty –
so thank you to everyone who assisted with building it, especially our resident carpenter-extreme Chrysos.

Some photos of the cast during rehearsals for “Hello, Is There Anybody There?”

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

Director of Franklin’s mid-year production, “Hello, Is There Anybody There?” (a play written by Ian Hornby)

I clearly remember the day Dylan Moss, our Franklin Players Chairman, phoned to ask if I would be interested directing the mid-year production.

‘What’s the catch?’ I asked, once I wiped tears from my eyes and stopped my hysterical laughter. ‘Show dates pushed forward by a month and only a two week window to build, paint and furnish an Old English Manor set with zero budget’ he calmly replied.

‘These are the same obstacles that every Franklin director of the mid-year production had to face for the last 51 years. How tough can it be?’

As John Wayne said ‘Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you stupid’.

So we appointed the very best production team we could buy with empty promises of stardom and bottomless coffee during rehearsals. We hand-picked (i.e. begged, pleaded, blackmailed) a cast worthy of Broadway and ordered a large portion of miracles… with chips to go.

Everybody fearlessly tackled the back-breaking schedule of rushing straight to rehearsals after work every Monday and Wednesday. Exchanging precious time spent with loved ones and Sunday family roasts for set building and learning lines…VERBATIM!

Despite the odds (and constantly running out of murder victims), the production team and cast managed to pull off a miracle in just 10 weeks. It has been a privilege and honour working with a group of people totally committed to the love of theatre and everything that goes with it.

It is thus with great pride and pleasure that I present our mid-year play, ‘Hello…is there anybody there”.

Yours truly,
Hendrik “El Director” Greyvenstein

THE CAST

Lady Amelia Simpson-Squire – Angela-Jane van Vuuren
Lady Amelia Simpson-Squire – Understudy – Delia Leopold
Sir Malcolm Squire – Mervin Lowe
Sir Malcolm Squire – Understudy – Johann Spies
Freddy Lyons – Sean Nieuwoudt
Mabel – Marise Kruger
Dianne Sides – Taryn Brehm
Vic / DC Fickey – Chrysos Daneel
WPC Nunall – Cat Coxon
Smalls – Spencer Rowley
Miss Marbles – Kathy Clayton
Prompt – Emma Morris

Cast of Franklin’s mid-year farce “Hello, Is There Anybody There?”

BACKSTAGE AND FRONT-OF-HOUSE CREW

Stage Managers – Carri Lyons and Els de Bundel
Props Design – Carri Lyons
Sound – Dylan Moss
Lighting – Nicky Pantland
Set Design – Carri Lyons, Els de Bundel, Dave Morgan and Angela-Jane van Vuuren
Set Construction – Chrysos Daneel, Hennie Greyvenstein and Mervin Lowe
Front-of-house – Wendy Brehm, Nicky Pantland, Els de Bundel and Chris Esterhuyse
Ticket Sales – Wendy Brehm
Costume Design – Els de Bundel
Furniture – Angela-Jane van Vuuren