THE YEOMEN OF THE GUARD
22-24 May 2025
Bob Hope Theatre, Wythfield Road, Eltham SE9 5TG
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SynopsisThe scene is the Tower of London. Falsely accused of sorcery by a kinsman who will inherit his estate should he die unmarried, the condemned Colonel Fairfax determines to thwart him, and asks his old friend, Sergeant Meryll to arrange a marriage with anyone ' the meanest, and the worst favoured is good enough'. Enter Elsie Maynard and Jack Point, two strolling players sorely in need of money, and the offer of 100 crowns soon persuades them to let Elsie be blindfolded and marry a man who is to die that very day. So it is arranged.
At this point Meryll's son, Leonard, appears, and very quickly he, his father and his sister Phoebe devise a plot to free Fairfax, disguise him as Leonard and introduce him as a new warder. But Fairfax's marriage with Elsie has already taken place, and when she learns of his escape, she faints clean away. and is brought to Meryll's house to be nursed, where Fairfax, as Leonard, is now residing.
Jack Point is equally distraught . He was planning to marry Elsie, but that is not possible if she has a living husband. So he promises to give the gaoler, Wilfred Shadbolt, lessons in the art of jesting if he will swear that he saw Fairfax trying to escape and shot him though the head so that the body sank in the river. Elsie is now free again to marry, but in a touching quartet 'When a wooer goes a-wooing' Point discovers that alas 'Leonard' has wooed her and won her. His plot was in vain.
Then the delayed reprieve for Fairfax arrives, and Elsie learns that – horror of horrors - he intends to claim his bride. She cannot marry 'Leonard'! In a dramatic final scene, however, her tears are turned to joy as Fairfax reveals himself as the 'Leonard' she loves. But there is no such happiness for poor Jack Point. As he and Elsie sing a poignant echo of their opening duet, he collapses heartbrokenly at her feet.
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Cast List
| Character |
Played By |
| Sir Richard Cholmondeley |
Andy Noakes |
| Colonel Fairfax |
Paul Blundell |
| Sergeant Meryll |
Paul Booer |
| Leonard Meryll |
Nathan Killen |
| Jack Point |
Phil Errington |
| Wilfred Shadbolt |
William Hawkes |
| 1st Yeoman |
TBA |
| 2nd Yeoman |
TBA |
| 3rd Yeoman |
TBA |
| 1st Citizen |
TBA |
| 2nd Citizen |
TBA |
| 3rd Citizen |
TBA |
| Elsie Maynard |
Jasper Kindleysides |
| Phoebe Meryll |
Janette Cattell |
| Dame Carruthers |
Olivia Shatwell |
| Kate |
TBA |
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Ruddigore (from scratch)
Sun, 9th February 2025, 7 for 7.30pm
New Eltham Methodist Centre
Footscray Road
New Eltham
SE9 3UL
Non-singing audience £6
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