Hostile Witness
Written by Jack Roffey
Directed by Sylvia Palmer
19 – 22 March 1969
A distinguished barrister calmly finishes a day in court and announces the police will be arriving to arrest him for murder. The evidence, when it comes, is enough to hang an archbishop: his friend, a judge, has been found stabbed to death, and his fingerprints are on the knife. Moreover, a mysterious letter accused the judge of the hit-and-run death of the barrister’s little girl, a crime the barrister had vowed to avenge. As the noose of trial evidence tightens, the barrister dismisses his lawyer and with the aid of a beautiful assistant takes over his own defense, for he must find the real murderer or be hanged himself.
Cast
Charles Milburn – Brian Eratt
Percy – Martin Wood
Sheila Larkin – Marion Ellis
Simon Crawford, Q.C. – Peter Janes
Sir Peter Crossman, Q.C. – Peter Paul
Hamish Gillespie – Alex Baird
Hugh Maitland – Colin Bailey
Court Usher – Eric Crichton
Mr Naylor, Q.C. – Mike Rand
Clerk of the Court – John Robarts
Shorthand Writer – Harry Dunphy
Mr Saxby – Harold Craske
Policeman – John Smith
Superintendent Eley – Harry Randall
Dr Wimborne – Eric Cornish
Mr Justice Osborne – Walter Cornforth
Prison Officer – Neil Jarman
Another Lawyer – Alan Bowman
Lady Gregory – Betty Bailey
Crew
Stage Manager – Alan Bowman
Assistant Stage Manager – Janet Hawtin
Properties – Mary Schanbacher assisted by Pat McCulloch, Kay Lallyette and Hilary Cummings
Lighting – Alan Phipps
Sound – Graham Maggs
Costumes – Nathans and Theatre Wardrobe
Wigs – Nathan Wigs
Set Design – Alan Bowman