An Hour Upon the Stage: A Hat Too Far?

Tom Thumb

Christmas 2000 School Production at Alderman Richard Hallam

Cast

Fearless Frankie … Matthew Allen

Tree Markers … Chloe Barnes

                            Adam Brown

Mrs. Spoilachild … Ria Barot

Villagers … Laurel Blair

                    Nadine Bucknor

                    Arun Devshi

                    Christopher Fox

                    Sagar Ladha

                    Sophie McPhillips

                    Emma Newlands

                    Nikesh Patel

                    Amar Rai

                    Dipesh Tailor

Clowns … Samantha Bowler

                  Alex Carnall

                  Sam Carter

                  Kirsty Mason

                 Akshay Modhwadia

                 Sheikha Modhwadia

                 Callum Tye

                 Prianca Unjia

                 Arti Zinzuwadia

Soldiers … Ryan Brownett

                   Jake Dilkes-Clarke

                   Rhys Evans-Hughes

                   Matthew Hyatt

                   Amardeep Kular

                   Palvi Kumari

                  Alexander North

                  Sophie Park

                  Devki Parmar

                  Mitchell Powley

                  Bhavisha Radia

                  Jake Rowley

Woodcutters … Ellie Butler

                           Stephanie Edwards

                           Micah Forbes

                           Reece Fullerton

                           Sanjay Keshav

                           James Law

                           Bonnee O’Connor

                           Laura Wells

                           James Wright

Spoilt Sam … Amy Chamberlain

Sarah … Rupal Chavda

Mrs. Jellymould … Nisha Chopra

Bad Egg Seller … Christopher Clarke

Ragdolls … Nicholas Cleaver

                    Lauren Cross

                    Aaron Dilkes-Clarke

                    Anthony Gallagher

                    Emma Hurst

                    Stephanie Hurst

                    Kiranjit Sidhu   

                    Sophie Stephenson  

Mr. Thinbiscuit … Steven Daffern

Sniffer Stan … Rebecca Davies

Norbert Nikkit … Harris Davis-Taylor

Soapsud Sidney … Joseph Dreijers

Elves … Cathryn Ellison

               Chelsea Gough

               Shannon O’Brien

Potshot Pete … Jordan Ford-York

The Baroness … Aysha Hearst

Mrs. Teacake … Kiranpreet Kaur

Careless Clive/Clown … Shannon Marston

Seafood Sam/Clown … Latasha Mayes-Preston

Jumping Jack … Jade Norwood

Whiskers Walter/Clown … Jade Penlington

Squashed Tomato Seller … Daniel Roberts

Stockmaster … Kieran Roberts

Tom Thumb … Jack Ryan

The Baron … Alexander Shaw

Town Crier … Ryan Simmonds

William … David Stevens

Cuthbert Custard/Clown … Jayde Tooms

Twoteeth Terence/Clown … Victoria Wade

Grubby Gerald/Clown … Michael Wood

My first experience of acting on a stage, I took to the craft like a duck to water despite my natural shyness. The play concerned was our school's Year Three Christmas production of Tom Thumb, in which I played the lead's father, William.  The stroy goes that young Tom, who is only the size of a man's thumb (ironic, considering he was one of the tallest cast members) gets into a series of scrapes that result in him joining the gang of local ruffian Norbert Nikkit (who stole the entire show). I was eventually framed for one of the gang's crimes and ordered by the Baron to be put in the stocks. Of course everything turned out happily in the end. My costume consisted of a false moustache and green poncho, as well as a large brown hat, which my family complained completely covered my face, something which I used to my advantage. My friend Alex, who played the Baron, had to suffer worse indignities, he was forced to wear tights for the role, kindly donated by a girl in our class. They even came with little flowers embroidered on the bottom, which he was not pleased about, to say the least.