Racheal - Production Date: 17 – 26 January, 1998
- Production Company: API Theatre Company, Brisbane
- Playwright: John Wikman
- My Role: Polly
One of the great things about the performing arts is meeting and getting to work with so many talentedly creative people! John Wikman was one of those multi-talents. I had already worked with him on both Jack and the Beanstalk, and Cinderella with the API Theatre Company, where he was always the classic Dame, but Hey Diddle Diddle was also one of John’s very own shows which he wrote – music, lyrics and story – as well as directed! I believe this was his second complete show he wrote (the first being Fridge which I would get to be part of when it was put on by the API Theatre Company in 2000).
Hey Diddle Diddle was a fun family musical pantomime which comprised of all your favourite nursery rhyme characters. The great thing about this show was that there was no unnamed / ensemble. Every single performer in the show had a named character, and for this production I was cast as Polly (from the old English nursery rhyme Polly Put the Kettle On). Polly was a maid and the fun part of the role was that the storyline told of how Polly had lost her nose due to a blackbird pecking it off (Sing a song of Sixpence). This meant I had to wear a large plaster over my nose as part of the character. Not overly flattering, but still fun because it gave my character something quirky to add to the role.
Once again there are no photos from the show, with the exception of the couple that were printed on the front of the program (see below). However, I do remember that I missed the promo photo shoot day for some reason. I can’t remember if it was because I was sick or if I was working – but it meant I wasn’t in the promo photos taken anyway. The lovely Heidi Hamblyn, whom I had also worked with on the other pantomimes, and whom was playing the Queen’s cat Sukey (from Polly Put the Kettle On), ended up standing in as me for the photos. I don’t remember why she didn’t dress as her character instead – I probably did ask, but I guess they wanted to keep her character a surprise for the children.
John went on to write many more shows (and still does today). This particular show however was re-written by John in 2005 and subsequently renamed to Jack Be Quick. You can find out more about John’s shows at his website: https://johnwikmanproductions.com.au/
CAST: John Wikman, James Crilley, Heidi Hamblyn, Brian Ming, Tama Matheson, Pam Smiles, Tyson Hang, David Forrest, Adam Lovell, Suzi Patterson, Fiona Young, Lilian Harrington, Nicole Burton, Merle Jardine.
CREW: John Wikman (Director), Mark Sherry (Musical Director), Heidi Hamblyn (Choreographer), Dianne Okely (Stage Manager), Ken Latter (Lighting Design), Ashley Gittins (Lighting & Sound), Merle Jardine & Pat Hamblyn (Costumes), Ian Bielenberg, Lorraine O’Leary, Carolyn Kinniburgh, Leo Bradley, Rosemary Grummitt, Ralph Jardine.
