Dear
Ralph
A Valentine Gala - in association with BBC Video
Louise Gold featured in Dear Ralph - a fundraising event in aid of The Ralph
Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund at The Shaftsbury Theatre (starting at
7:30pm) on Sunday 13 February 1994.
Note: Please note the cast listing is not
necessarily accurate, the webmaster wasn’t present and so is having to use the
original programme for the event as a guide, although it is quite likely that
the people listed took part, along with others who weren’t listed. It is known
that Louise Gold definitely appeared in it.
Programme
information is provided here thanks to the very kind help of The Ralph Bates
Pancreatic Research Fund
Cast
Performers (as listed in the programme): Babette Langford’s The Young Set, Daisy
Bates, Will Bates, The Will
Bates Band, Christopher Biggins, Patti Boulaye, Clive Carter, Bernard Cribbins, Belinda Cryer, Janie Dee,
Jim Diamond, Lucy Dixon, Donald Douglas, Geoff Driscoll, Peter Egan, Robin Ellis, Michelle Fine,
Myra Frances, Louise Gold, Kim
Goody, Peter Gordeno, John Gould, Winston Graham, Steve Hackett, Francis Haines, Roy Hilton,
The Hollies, Tina Jones, George
Layton, Alfred Marks, Kevin
McNally, Zoot Money, Richard
Morant, Joanna Riding, The
Peter Gordeno Dancers, Howard
Samuels, Sandi Toksvig, Wanda Ventham, Jane Wymark, Jeremy Young
and the stars of BBC TV’s Dear John,
Also Appearing:
The Will Bates Band – Quentin Collins, Will Bates,
Matt Lane, Luke Cox, Seb Chew, Eliza Mishcon
The Hollies - Allan Clarke, Alan
Coates, Tony Hicks, and, Francis Haines
The Peter Gordeno Dancers – Sam Dean, and, Jodie Star
The Stars of BBC TV’s Dear John
- Rachel Bell, Peter Blake, Jean Challis, Lucinda Curtis,
Peter Denyer, and, Belinda Lang,
Babette Langford’s The Young Set - ?
The Band – Jason Wright (Keyboards), Jimmy Gallagher (Saxophone), David Meehan (Trumpet), Matt Cheadle (Guitar), and, Paul Morgan (Drums)
Hosts:
Daisy Bates, Donald
Douglas, Peter Egan, Robin Ellis, Myra Frances, Alfred Marks,
Kevin McNally, Richard Morant, Wanda
Ventham, Jane Wymark, Jeremy Young, and The cast of ‘Dear John’.
Billed On Original Advertising (but in the end did not appear):
Linda Marlowe (but she did help with directing it), Kate O’Mara, John Sessions, Jason White,
and, The
Stars of BBC TV’s Poldark (it seems, that while some of them did take
part individually they were not billed as a group)
Production Team
Presented by
– Virginia Wetherell and the
trustees of The Ralph Bates Pancreatic
Cancer Research Fund by arrangement with The Theatre Of Comedy Company Ltd and Cameron Mackintosh
Produced
in association with - BBC Video
Directed by – Ian Talbot
Co-ordinators – Christopher Biggins, and, Angela Graham-Jones
Musical Director – Jason Wright
Production Team – Elli Bremner, Graeme Hampton, Andy
Holton, and, Ceris Jones
Assistants to Virginia Wethrell – Rupert
Byng, and, Julian Deeming
Publicity – Deborah Carey, Nick Grange, and,
Front Of House Design – Harley Page, and, Erica Page
Marketing Consultant – Jeanne Cook
Roadie – Ray Butt
Wardrobe – Denise Montecolombi
Catering – Peter Mishcon, Penny Mishcon, Mark Harvey,
and, Chrissey Welsh
Head Of Glitter Buckets –
The
Theatre Of Comedy Company Ltd
Artistic Director – Alan Strachan
Chief Executive – Nick Salmon
Assistant to Mr Strachan, and, Mr Salmon – Jacki
Harding
Theatre Manager – Patrick Murphy
Financial Controller – Rod Cheesman
House Manager – Marc Evans
Catering Manager – Mary Keogh
Box Office Manager – Claire Wharfe
Deputy Box Office Manager – Alex Welch
Chief Electrician – John Harris
Deputy Chief Electrician – Peter Fordham
Master Carpenter – Lee Eld
Deputy Master Carpenter – Paul Skeggs
Chargehand Stage – Spencer New
Stage Door Keeper – Harry Gabriel
The Ralph Bates PCR Fund Entertainment Committee – Peter Blake RA,
Chrissy Blake, Ray Cooney, Angela Graham-Jones, Timothy
Goode, Richard Hatton, Julie Hodgess, Patrick Malynn, Roger
Ordish, Jules Peck, Robert Peck, Penny Radford, John
Sullivan, and, Sharon Sullivan
Sound by – Theatre Projects (Dave Perry, Roland Hemming,
and, Nicola Pretious)
Running Order
Part 1
1. The Will Bates Band - Quentin Collins (Piano), Will Bates (Saxophone), Matt Lane (Guitar), Luke Cox (Bass), Seb Chew (Drums), and, Eliza Mishcon
2. Master Of Ceremonies – Christopher Biggins
3. The Young Set – Directed By Babette Langford
4. “Dear John” – Rachel Bell, Peter Blake,
Belinda Lang, Peter Denyer, Jean Challis,
and, Lucinda Curtis
5. Janie Dee & Clive Carter
6. John Gould
7. Joanna Riding
8. Jim Diamond & Zoot Money
9. Peter Gordeno & his dancers
– Peter Gordeno with Sam Dean, and, Jodie Star
10. Patti Boulaye
Part 2
11. “Invade My Privacy” A Musical
Celebration of the Works of Fran Landesman from the Kings
Head Theatre, Islington
- with Belinda Cryer, Lucy
Musicians – Roy Hilton (Piano),
Geoff Driscoll (Saxophone),
Devised & Compiled by Howard
Samuels
Directed by Linda Marlowe
12. Steve Hackett & Will Bates
(Saxophone)
13. “Taking The Mikado” written by David Wood & John Gould –
George Layton accompanied by John Gould
14. Louise Gold
15. A Hole In The Ground – Bernard Cribbins
16. Raffle Draw – drawn by Winston Graham
17. Sandy Toksvig
18. Kim Goody accompanied by
Francis Haines
19. The Hollies – Allan Clarke, Alan Coates,
Tony Hicks, and Francis Haines
20. Finale
It is known for definite that Kim Goody and The
Hollies appeared in the gala. Everyone else is very likely to have
appeared.
Louise Gold had previously taken part
in another charity event at The Shaftsbury Theatre, the first Comic
Relief.
Christopher Biggins,
and, Lucy Dixon had previously appeared in Kids
At Heart.
Christopher
Biggins, and, Janie Dee have gone on
to appear in Side By Side By Sondheim 30th
Anniversary Gala, along with Cameron
Mackintosh.
Christopher
Biggins, Bernard Cribbins, Janie
Dee and, Joanna Riding,
along with Ian Talbot went on to appear in the Regents Park 70th Anniversary Gala.
Christopher Biggins’s recording credits
include Simply Musicals.
Kim Goody’s previous stage credits include a national
tour of the musical Hair.
Clive Carter,
Janie Dee and, John Gould George Layton may have gone
on to appear in Comedy Tonight, with George Layton and John Gould also performing Taking The Mikado.
Alfred Marks may have previously
appeared in Will-Aid.
Janie Dee, and, Joanna
Riding, along with Cameron Mackintosh went on to appear on
television on A Week In The West End.
Zoot Money had previously appeared in
the films The Pirates Of Penzance
(Film) and Billy
The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire. His recording credits include Billy
The Kid And The Green Baize Vampire (Soundtrack single).
Christopher Biggins
has gone on to appear (alongside Louise Gold) in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Peter Egan’s TV credits include Joint Account.
Louise Gold had previously appeared
at The Shaftsbury Theatre in Comic Relief, and, A Time To Start Living.
Janie Dee along with Linda Marlow have gone on to appear in A Love Letter To Dan, which Spencer New went on to stage manage; in
aid of the Kings Head Theatre, Islington.
Clive Carter had previously
appeared in My Fair Lady, and, Joseph And The
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (York Production).
Janie Dee’s recording
credits include Defiant Dames.
Lucy Dixon, and, Michelle Fine had previously appeared
in Merrily We Roll Along (Stage
production), and their recording credits include Merrily We Roll Along (Recording).
Lucy Dixon, and, Howard Samuels’s recording credits
include Cabaret.
Michelle Fine had previously
appeared in Assassins, her recording credits
include Stop The World I Want To
Get Off.
John Gould went on to play
the piano for the radio quiz Let’s Do
The Show Right Here.
Howard Samuels’s recording
credits include Encore The
Very Best From The Musicals, and, The
History Of The Musical.
Rachel Bell had previously
appeared on television in For 4 Tonight.
Belinda Lang had previously
appeared on stage in Angry Housewives.
Ian Talbot had previously
directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
and went on to direct Kiss Me Kate. He also went
on to take part in Shopping With The
Stars.
It is not known whether or not the Electrician John Harris is the same John Harris who was a rigger on the
film Muppet Treasure Island.
Cameron
Mackintosh went on to produce Mary Poppins, which Louise Gold appeared in.
Cameron
Mackintosh appeared on television in ABBA –
The Mamma Mia! Story.
Louise Gold went on to
appear in a concert staging of the musical Of Thee
I Sing, where she played Diana Deaveraux a character who might be a sort of
fictitious relative of Ralph Bates’
(well Ralph Bates did just happen to
be related to Napoleon).
Critics Comments
Links about Dear Ralph
The Ralph Bates
Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund’s website should be: http://www.ralphbatespcrf.org.uk/
