The Cast

The cast of Allo Allo

directed by Ellie Hale

Alex Rohmat

Dids Robinson-Sivyer

Freddie Poulton

2015 Jack Page
2016 Peter

2015 Stephen Edwards
2016 Jon Clark

Clive Hale

Marilyn Chandler

James Kemp

Mike Cotton

Sonia De Sousa

Lol Briggs

Josie Tipler
Christine Armitage Hinks

Dids Robinson-Sivyer

Stephen Edwards

Josie Tipler

Marilyn Chandler (left)

Christine Armitage Hinks

Alex Rohmat (left)

Sonia De Sousa

Jack Page (right)

Mike Cotton

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The 2014 Cabaret Cast

Clive Hale is chief luvvie and does his best with the material he's got to work with!
Chris Melhuish sealed his fate when he joined us for Cabaret in 2013 and Lend Me A Tenor earlier this year.
Josie Tipler just won't leave

James Kemp joined us for Lend Me A Tenor and obviously is a glutton for punishment
Jim Tipler is leader of the gang  Cabaret Musos
Sonia De Sousa was in Lend Me A Tenor and has agreed to come back for cabaret despite the fact she has no stage kiss this time.

Christine Armitage Hinks is ready to shock as usual

Andy Maby bounces back to join us once again as drummer with the Cabaret Musos

Ellie Hale realised how much she loved the Dicker Players when performing in Lend Me A Tenor so has returned to the fold.
Chuck Tipler is back on guitar with the Cabaret Musos

Tracey has joined the group this year and has been thrown in the deep end
Alex has worked with Clive before so must have had some idea of what he was letting himself in for...

He's back! Doug Dalziel returns, though he's so quiet you'd hardly know he's here (!)................................

2014 - Lend Me A tenor cast

Max - assistant to Saunders
James Kemp
James has been interested in the arts for about 8 years. He started in local performing arts schools in the local area like Stagecoach and the Hastings stage studios. He is currently trying to pursue his interest in the arts further by applying for drama schools around the country. He is determined and very passionate for drama and looks at approaching it professionally in years to come.

Diana - Soprano
Sonia De Sousa
Sonia was approached by the Dicker Players, not just for her acting ability on Ready Steady Cook, they saw the potential for her cake making and the obvious benefits that come with this.
She has now been with the Dickers for seven years, which basically means, she does make extremely good cakes.

Saunders - general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company
Clive Hale
Clive Hale is the longest serving member of the group. He was tempted to tread the boards in his mid-twenties by a phone call from a desperate director of Ackbourne's Gosforth's Fete ; it went something like "....we've tried everyone...and then someone suggested you!" He's so vain he could not resist such a flattering approach. He has never looked back and now regularly performs with Hailsham Teatres, the Haven players as well as the Dicker Players. He loves doing plays but his passion is our winter Cabaret at Polegate School (bit naughty...but lots of fun!). Clive can't quite understand why he is no longer offered the juvenille lead but has found his niche playing grumpy, shouty old men. The part of Saunders could have been written for him!


Julia Leverett - Chairman of the Opera Guild.
Christine Armitage Hinks.
Christine has been a long standing member of the Dicker Players, she banks the money (when there is any) and loves the friendship and laughter which being part of the group brings into her life!

Bellhop
Chris Melhuish

Chris is a relative newcomer to The Dicker Players.  He normally works as a gardener and occasional ecological surveyor so the switch to bellhop has been a steep learning curve.  Please remember that he is a bellhop, not a waiter, and so will not be serving drinks during the interval.  

Maria Merelli - Tito's wife

Josie Tipler
Josie is a visual artist and has been in the cast of 3 previous comedy plays with the Dicker Players as well as in many of their annual Cabarets. She has no other dramatic aspirations than performing with this group, preferring to spend her days tutoring or painting in her Wilmington studio whilst listening to radio 4 extra and composing comedy sketches.

Tito Merelli - a world famous tenor, known also to his fans as Il Stupendo.
Jack Page
Jack is an extremely enthusiastic, up and coming actor who is willing to take on any role and try to portray that role with the most conviction that he can. He has had experience performing a variety of characters including a software designer to a 1920’s fisherman to a psychopathic, murderous butcher! He is best known, around the area, for his lead role in the Hailsham Theatre’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s Roleplay. He also loves bacon.


Maggie Saunders - Max's girlfriend
Ellie Hale
Whilst training at Drama Studio London, Ellie's roles included Julia in Noel Coward's Fallen Angels and Private Lil in The Passing Out Parade. After graduating she started her own company, Upstaged Productions, and performed Diana Raffle's Camp Confidence at the Hailsham Arts Festival. An acting tutor at The Gifted & Talented Summer School, she co-directed scenes their feature film, Get Santa. She has performed various roles from Dame Bumble in pantomime Frosty the Snowman to Katherine in the Taming of the Shrew. She last performed The comedy The Amicable Solution in London and the Edinburgh Fringe 5 years ago and is loving being part of Dicker Players again.

Marilyn Chandler
Director
Marilyn Chandler is pleased and proud to be directing the very talented Dicker Players in the production of ‘Lend Me A Tenor’.  She also directed the winner of the Eastbourne Festival play ‘Blue Remembered Hills’, also with the Dicker Players
Stage Manager - Sarah Rooney
Deputy Stage Manager - Evie Debreczeny

With thanks to:
Sussex Downs College for hair and makeup; .David Haddow, Sarah Hale, Andy Brooke, Sam Elsby,
Val Hale, Ann Gellatly, Bruce Hamilton & Kevin Brown of Rare Repro and Jim Tipler for their help with the set...as well as cast members Ellie, James and Josie;
Polegate School for their support with a venue for rehearsals; 
Hailsham Creative for the publicity material design and print.

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............................................

The 2013 Cabaret Cast:

Clive Hale - well, what can we say? It's probably best we don't let him write his own piece because there really isn't enough room on the blog page. A shy* and retiring*retired wallflower, Clive can occasionally be persuaded to hop* up on stage and mumble a few* words, and on some very rare* occasions, you may even be able to catch him in costume. Most of the time he just shouts the orders and lets the rest of the cast get on with it*.

[*Ed. Irony]

** NEW for 2013!**
Chris Melhuish tried acting at school but his drama teacher told him he was the laziest person she had ever met.  He decided to take up the guitar instead, and taught himself three chords in as many years.  Lazy indeed! What did she know?  He has written a few songs, none of which are on YouTube. His poetry prizes include a set of coloured pencils and forty quid.  He doesn't really have any other theatrical associations, except that, well, he did once have a telephone conversation with a star of Coronation Street, whilst working in a call centre in Croydon, darling.  After seeing the 2012 Cabaret, he added "audition for Dicker Players" to his 'things to do before I go mad' list, which is a bit ironic.   ** Returning for 2013!**

Jon Clark - he looks so innocent. Don't be fooled.
** Returning for 2013!**
Phil Hilder has returned....and is struggling to contain his excitement*.
[*Ed. Irony]
** NEW for 2013!**
Jack Page - another unsuspecting newcomer to the group. but he does already know Clive and Steve so he should know better.
Marilyn Chandler used to be a stunt woman until she broke her toe in a canon and custard related incident. She is delighted to be assisting the Dicker Players with their hit* cabaret show. Highlights of her acting career include Ginny in Alan Ayckbourn's Relatively Speaking and Felicity in his Habeas Corpus, but she is better known for directing the Dicker Players in their award winning festival triumph Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter.

[*Ed. Irony]

Stephen Edwards accidentally joined the Dicker Players in 2005. At the time he was on the run from the Haven Players and living rough in Upper Dicker. He's now here to prove that you can take the man out of dicker, but you can't take dicker out of the man.  Despite never being told about rehearsals and social events he keeps turning up. Stephen's principle purpose is to make everyone else look good* by being rubbish. Ambitions inc trying to remember all his lines next year. He is a Cancer, GSOH and non smoker.
[*Ed. Irony]

Josie Tipler is the shortest member of the cast, but by no means the sweetest. Having gazed at the leading roles with envy from the back row of the chorus in the Mikado at school, Josie did nothing whatsoever about her dramatic aspirations* until in 1999 she had the chance to enter the Dicker Players without audition when they were desperate. They haven't managed to shake her off yet.

[*Ed. Irony]

Jim Tipler, tall, dark* and handsome*, joined the Dicker Players in 1998 because he had an accordion and they were doing a sketch that needed a tall accordionist. And a beard - although that was a knitted one. Since then he has been chained to his guitar or other instruments and not allowed to leave the stage despite his annual protestations that he is 'never ever doing that again!'

[*Ed. Irony]

Sonia Da Sousa is our resident baker, proof that you can have your cake and eat it!!
She copes admirably with everything that Cabaret can hurl at her, including cups of tea (piffle!) and sudden amorous clinches, juggling her dramatic appearances around her jet setting career.

The cast of Allo Allo directed by Ellie Hale Alex Rohmat Dids Freddie Poulton Jack Page Stephen Edwards Clive Hale Marilyn Chandler James Kemp Mike Cotton Sonia De Sousa Lol Briggs Josie Tipler Christine Armitage Hinks The cast of Allo Allo directed by Ellie Hale Alex Rohmat Dids Freddie Poulton Jack Page Stephen Edwards Clive Hale Marilyn Chandler James Kemp Mike Cotton Sonia De Sousa Lol Briggs Josie Tipler Christine Armitage Hinks

Christine Armitage Hinks is a long suffering member of the DP.'s, her training as a town crier ensured that Christine Armitage-Hinks was ideally equipped to pursue a successful career as a speaking clock for the hard of hearing.  Professionally she worked under the name of Second Hand Hinks. Her career came to an abrupt end when decimalisation changed GMT for ever. 

Thirty years as third reserve for the chorus of the National Opera of Mongolia ensure that Christine Armitage-Hinks can not only sing all the verses of the Mongolian National anthem she can also milk a Yak and erect a Yurt. Invaluable skills in Hailsham!

** Returning for 2013!**

Andy Maby - a drummer, baby. Enough said.