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 The
Cicala Players in: Tony Draws a Horse by Lesley Storm
Staged:
12 April 1947 at The Toynbee Hall Theatre London
 The Cicala Players pull off something of a coup with their
first production – Tony Draws a Horse, against the background of the
austerity of post-war London. Alec R Ellis, Editor of Martins Bank Magazine
journeys south from Liverpool to see the play and to write the first of what
will become a regular fixture in the staff journal – a review of a
performance by one of the Bank’s Operatic and Dramatic Societies. It will not be until 1951 that the Argosy
Players will be distinguished by their own name, rather than as the “Drama
Section of the Society of the Arts”, but the Cicala Players perform under
their own name from the start. Despite the Bank’s Head Office being in
Liverpool, there is no favouritism shown, and as the years pass, we will see
that the critiques given to any of the individual groups of performers, be
they in Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne or London, is constructive
and fair, even when it is necessary to pick fault with actors, directors,
stage hands, and on one or two occasions even writers! Whilst the Argosy Players have the chance
to try out new material at the annual meetings of the Society of the Arts,
the Cicala Players are not afforded such luxury. It is all the more surprising then, to find
that they will go on to stage TWO annual drama productions in front of audiences at London
theatres, and clock up thirty-two different shows by the time of their final
performance in 1965. So let’s start at
the very beginning, 12 April 1947, when the Cicala Players have been lucky
enough to find the stage of Toynbee Hall Theatre on which to perform “Tony
Draws a Horse”…
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 The task of a
northern critic who comes to London to see an amateur show, and follows it
up by seeing professional West End shows as well, is not an easy one. He
tends to be too critical. Our remarks, therefore, about the performance of
“Tony Draws a Horse” (Lesley Storm), at the Toynbee Hall Theatre, on
Saturday, April 12th, will not be construed as being over-indulgent. It was
a remarkable achievement in several ways. To get a theatre for one night in
London is in itself remarkable, as most are booked a year ahead, and some
are booked for the next two years. To give a public performance of a
three-act play without having tried out one’s talent on shorter works was
an act of faith; and to find the time for rehearsals after hours is, for
the staff of the London district, an achievement which colleagues in other
parts of the country do not fully appreciate. The cast was a large one,
fourteen players in all. Eight were drawn from Lombard Street office; three
from London Foreign branch; one from Soho Square; one from Fenchurch
Street; and the fourteenth was a former member of the staff, Joan Cowell,
who attractively presented the part of Mrs. Smith.
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Patricia Malcolm as Mrs Fleming
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Performances
of outstanding merit were given by Peter Cockman (Soho Square) and Patricia
Malcolm (Fenchurch Street) as Dr. and Mrs. Fleming; Alan Whitmey (London
Office), as grandpa; and Stella Brown (London Office), as Mrs. Parsons. The
comparative inexperience of Patricia Malcolm was hard to appreciate, so
polished was her performance. Peter Cockman never let himself fall into the
trap of being too forceful as the narrow-minded doctor, and his
interpretation of the part was just right. Alan Whitmey took over his part
a bare three weeks before the show, though one would not have suspected it,
and his performance of this entirely lovable character was most pleasing.
Stella Brown’s part involved emotional acting of a most exacting nature.
Her characterisation of the old humbug of a mother, although demanding
exaggeration, was never overdone, and was entirely convincing.
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Stella Brown as Mrs Parsons
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Norman
Butterworth (London Foreign) shivering on the brink of matrimony, and Olwen
Collier (London Office), as the bride-to-be were very careful in the
interpretation of their parts, and if the former had shown more enthusiasm
earlier on it would have been easier for Olwen to display the mortification
demanded by her part. A little more fire would have made these two
excellent performances even better. John Evans (London Foreign) succeeded
in his rather difficult task of giving some dignity to his portrayal of a hen-pecked
husband, and Ernest Yates, our international skating star from London
Office, as the French waiter, gave proof of his talents in yet another
field. The other parts were very small, yet each was presented well,
betraying ample evidence of a passion for detail on the part of Josephine
Ellor, the Society’s most talented producer, for whose efforts we have
nothing but admiration. Mary O’Neill and Kathleen Coffield (London Office)
played the parts of the two maids; William McCullagh (London Foreign) acted
the part of the customer in the French tavern; Edward Hatton (London
Office) as the odd Pschenschynoff delighted everyone, though his appearance
was all too brief; and the part of Miss Birchall, the press representative,
was played by RuthBradshaw (London Office).
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