The Darling Buds of May
Written by H.E. Bates
Directed by Christine Angell
28 September – 3 October 1998
Pop Larkin, who makes a fortune from scrap-iron deals but has never paid income tax, lives in rural idyllic bliss with generous-hearted Ma and their six children. When a young, earnest tax official, Mr Charlton, turns up one hot May afternoon in 1957 to investigate, he is bewitched immediately by eldest daughter Mariette and it isn’t long before he succumbs to the boisterous Larkin family charm and largesse.
Cast
Pop Larkin – Peter Richardson
Ma Larkin – Jacqueline Vander Gucht
Mariette – Jenny Tallowin
Montgomery – Michael Uden / Aaron Bilham
Primrose – Katy Pearce / Lizzie Hughes
Petunia – Victoria Crowe / Siobhan McKiernan
Zinnia – Sally Richardson / Nicola Milner
Victoria – Amy Frosdick / Lisa Bennett
Mr Charlton – Ian Humphreys
Miss Pilchester – Carol Butler
Pauline Jackson – Jaqui Rand
Angela Snow – Shelley Peters
The Brigadier – Brian White
Sir George Bluff-Gore – Ray Beven
Lady Bluff-Gore – Betty Miller
The Tax Inspector – Ian Macdonald
Crew
Stage Manager and Set Designer – Steve Lovell
Set Build – PPSCU
Properties – Jenny Brookes, Peter Smee, Linda Jefferies, Suzy Pearce and Lou Jordan
Lighting – John Hudson
Sound – Graham King
Costumes – Marjorie Sawyer
Prompt – Marcia Stuart