In Development
The Ministerial Broadcast
7.00pm 31st December 1986. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has summoned Norman Fowler, Secretary of State for Health, to 10 Downing Street. Fowler is spearheading the Government's response to the looming AIDS crisis, which includes a leaflet drop to every household in the UK backed up with the TV, Cinema and Radio advertising campaign “Don’t Die of Ignorance”. He has proposed a Ministerial Broadcast – a TV address direct to the nation – to pre-empt the arrival of the leaflet and stress the need for the public to take it seriously. The meeting lays bare the conflicting views on the virus - its history and potential victims - and how to deal with it.
“I cannot fault David Balcombe’s research. There has not been a more accurate – or important - reconstruction of this crucial piece of our recent social and political history which resonates so clearly today, especially in the shadow of recent events.”
Norman Fowler, Lord Fowler of Sutton Coldfield, Secretary of State for Health and Social Security, 1981-87
It's Only Me, Boys!
Exeter-born Theodore Bayley Hardy went to the First World War as a Chaplain in 1916 - at the age of 52. "It's only me, boys!" he would whisper in the dark as he reached the trenches at the front of the allied lines. He would bring supplies (most importantly, cigarettes) to these young men and he would sit with them, talk with them, read with them and sometimes pray with them. If they were injured he would lay with them until help arrived. If they were killed he would stay with them until their bodies could be retrieved. He never carried a gun but became one of the most highly decorated non-combatants in the war, recognised with the three most prestigious awards for bravery: Military Cross, Distinguished Service Order and Victoria Cross, the latter of which was presented to him in person by King George V, a few miles behind the lines. Despite many offers to come home (as Chaplain to the King), Hardy stayed with his men. He was wounded on 11 October 1918 and died from his wounds one week later, less than a month before the Armistice. This is his story.
It's Only Me, Boys! will be performed at St Michael's Church, Shute,
EX13 7QW on Saturday 2nd November at 7.30pm.
Tickets (all £10.00) available from: www.ticketsource.co.uk/verity-productions
or on the door from 7.00pm.
All proceeds to St Michael's Church Restoration Fund.
Didn't He Do Well?
Didn’t He Do Well? is an affectionate tribute to Bruce Forsyth, told in real time through the prism of the period October 2000 to June 2003 – three of his lowest years, both on and off stage. His earlier life is represented by the recreation of significant episodes from previous stages of his career, culminating in his stunning comeback on mainstream television in the unlikely setting of the satirical topical programme Have I Got News for You? His career resurrected, a new lease of professional life in his eighties, Bruce Forsyth would go on to die a national treasure.
Structure
In Didn’t He Do Well? Bruce Forsyth’s life is told in three parts. The ‘contemporary’ action happens between October 2000 and June 2003, a period during which Bruce had very little professional work of any note. We see him in various different settings during this time which give the opportunity for flashbacks to earlier times in his career, recreating events from as far back as 1961. The contemporary and flashback episodes are clearly delineated, with the latter providing informative background on the former. Finally, the past and the present come together with Bruce’s extraordinary appearance on Have I Got News for You? Although this is the final action of the drama, there is an epilogue which briefly explains how that performance led to the resurrection of Bruce’s career, the invitation to him to become host of Strictly Come Dancing, enabling him to once again become ‘King of Saturday Night Television’, to receive his much coveted knighthood, and to die a national treasure.