The Lion in Winter (1986)

The Lion in Winter (1986)

Performer	Leominster Drama Group
Venue	The Community Centre
Date(s)	Tuesday 17th June 1986 Wednesday 18th June 1986
Time	7.30pm
Cost	£1.50, £1 OAP and children

THE LION IN WINTER

by James Goldman

Characters in order of appearance:

• Henry II, King of England . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James Law
• Alais, A French Princess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Brigitte Crumpler
• John, the youngest son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Simon James
• Geoffrey, the middle son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barry Hiley
• Richard Lionheart, the eldest son . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ian Player
• Eleanor, Henry’s wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jennifer Gough
• Philip, King of France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nick Sansom

Produced by James Law

The action of the play passes in Henry’s Castle at Chinon, France. Time — Christmas, 1183.

Act 1 — 6 scenes

Alais’s bedroom, a reception hail, Eleanor’s cnamber, reception hall, Eleanor’s chamber, Philip’s chamber.

INTERVAL

Act II — 3 scenes

Henry’s chamber, Alais’s chamber, the wine cellar.

• Assistant Producer . . . . . . . . . . . .Janet Williams
• Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tana Durham
• Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Don Millar
• Publicity . . . . . . . .Jem Ward & Patricia Stephens
• Wardrobe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dorothea Law
• Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kris Carter

The costumes and properties were made or provided by members of the Group.

The historical material on Henry’s reign is considerable in so far as battles, plots, wars, treaties and alliances are concerned. This play — while simplifying the political manoeuvring combining a meeting of the French and English Kings in 1183 with a Royal Court held at Windsor in the following year into a Christmas Court that never was — is accurately based on the available data.

The facts we have, while clear enough as to the Outcome of relationships — such things as who kills whom and when — say little if anything about the quality and content of those relationships. The people in this play, their character and passions, while consistent with the facts we have, are fictions.

The play, finally, contains anachronisms in speech, thought, habit, custom and so on. Those the author is aware of — the way, for instance, Christmas is celebrated — are deliberate and not intended to outrage the historical aspects of the script.

THE COMMUNITY CENTRE, SCHOOL ROAD at 7.30 p.m.

Tickets £1.50 (OAP/Children £1 .00)

Open air performance, but indoors if wet.

Notes

Sponsored by: Staffordshire Building Society