Winnie The Pooh

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN – Michael Hawkins. Mike is aged 14 and attends Broughton Hall of Banbury School. He has been a member of Cross Players Juniors for just 6 months, plays Badminton and is keenly interested in Electronics as an aid to achieving his ambition to become an Air Traffic Controller. On stage he has played several roles as a Member of the Upper School Dramatic Society, most notably ‘Puck’ in ‘Midsummer Nights Dream’. He has also been auditioned to play the role of John in our next production ‘The Lion in Winter’ being presented at the College Theatre in March.

WINNIE THE POOH – Peter Whitehill. Peter, who joined the Society a year ago is a ‘scouse’ – or if you prefer it ‘comes from Liverpool’. He has lived in the area six years and is very much a family man with three super kids, Joanna, Andrew and Sarah. His wife Carole is also a member of the Society and is responsible for wardrobe, A point worthy of mention is that all of the costumes seen in this pro-duction were designed by her, and in early December it was a job to get inside their home at Chipping Warden – for if you did not tread on costumes you would probably come to grief falling over Shah, the cat. Back to the boss! Peter’s previous career on stage goes back to his days at Liverpool University when he appeared in productions of ‘The Mikado’ and ‘The Gondoliers’.

PIGLET – Jane Cordy. This attractive young lady attends Sibford Friends School and is aged 12. She recently joined the Juniors, and in addition to her Drama activities is interested in riding, swimming and sailing. Jane has been involved in a number of productions at school, and her previous senior experience was in Banbury Amateur Operatic Society’s production of ‘South Pacific’ two years ago. Her father, Eric Gordy, is a Building, Maths and Science lecturer at Banbury Technical College.

RABBIT – Antony Wood. Tony, who is an ex Captain in the Armoured Corps has been an active member of the Cross Players for five years. He now works for a local grocery manufacturer (guess who), and his wife Ursula has in the past been involved with the wardrobe and music side of the Society. They have a son Jamie aged 2 and a very healthy labrador called Wavel. On stage, Tony has played ‘Woodcutter’ and ‘Demon’ in our last two pantomimes ‘Pinnochio’ and ‘Cinderella’. Prior to that he played Professor Bosch in ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ and ‘Trofimov’ in ‘The Cherry Orchard’. Tony also directed our production last Autumn of ‘Forty Years On’.

OWL – Clive Carey The elder gentleman of the Cross Players, Clive is a proud 70 next month and a retired Electrical Engineer. He was born in Radway, and recently returned to live there after residing in the London Suburbs for 35 years. He was a member of the Ealing Beaufort Players for a number of years appearing in such productions as ‘Loves a Luxury’, ‘The Paragon’ and ‘The Importance of being Earnest’. This is his first role with the Society. Clive’s proudest possession is his 1949 Triumph Roadster car which has to be seen to be believed! With 130,000 miles on the clock it is in immaculate condition and a ‘must’ for anyone interested in automobiles.

EEYORE – Bob Clement. What more can one say about this lovable little fellow! Probably one of the best known Players’ extroverts, Bob has played a number of major roles, most notably his performance as Gepetto in last year’s pantomime ‘Pinnochio’. Another favourite role was his portrayal of ‘Sailor’ in ‘Live Like Pigs’ – when he spent most of his time in bed! Bob Has been a member of the Society for 6 • years, is married with two children and lives in the town. His principal aim in business life is to maintain a steady and adequate supply of Brew XI to the parched and thirsty population of our locality.

KANGA – Anne Rastall. Anne, who emanates from Manchester, is an English and Drama teacher at Stanbridge Hall; Banbury School. She has been a member of the Cross Players since coming to the town 15 months ago, and her undoubted talent has become an important asset to the Society. Off stage Anne runs the Juniors Section and her academic background obviously lends itself to this end. The Juniors meet every Friday between 7 and 9 pm and have a lot of fun. Anne appeared as ‘Juliette’ in our production of ‘Thieves Carnival’ last April and whilst at College played a number of major roles including ‘Lady Macbeth’ and the Fairy Godmother in ‘Cinderella’. Between College and taking up her present post she taught for 3 and 9 months respectively at a Mental Hospital near Oxford and a school for maladjusted children at Abingdon.

ROO – Sally Newey. This young lady is aged 16 and has just left the Blessed George Napier School prior to moving to Ludlow with her parents Jeremy and Paddy Hardwick, who are both members of the Society. Sister Donna is also in the cast playing a rabbit, and this family relationship, which is always encouraged, will be our loss and Ludlow’s gain. Sally is a bit of a torn boy, loves horse riding and Badminton and last year broke her arm in two places playing rugby! She has also been on an adventure course recently and won the top award for leadership out of 5 girls and 25 boys.

TIGGER – Jo Blinkhorn. The middle one of Blinkhorn’s flock, Jo is probably best remembered for her brilliant performance as ‘Pinnochio’ in last years Christmas production. She has been a member of the Juniors for five years, is aged 14 and attends Stanbridge Hall, Banbury School. For the uniniated her ‘old man’ is Chairman of the Society, and this talented family is undoubtedly a good enough reason for our success in recent years. Mum, as well as being Joint Honorary Secretary is due to play the difficult role of Eleanor in our forthcoming production of ‘The Lion in Winter’. Jo says one of her main hobbies is sailing, which is just as well for Dad is rarely trusted out in their boat alone, and his daughter has on more than one occasion been responsible for ensuring our Chairman saw his year of office through!