This Happy Breed
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Harry Randall
13 – 16 November 1974
‘This Happy Breed’ covers twenty years in the life of the Frank and Ethel Bibbons and their children, from the end of World War I, to the beginning of World War II. On one level the story is the chronicle of a middle class family. They haven’t done well in the years between the wars, but in the face of another conflict, family unity spans the chasm between the generations. At another level, this is the story of England, torn at times by the conflicts of its own progress, but quietly firm in its historical moments of crisis.
Cast
Mrs Flint – Margaret Baird
Ethel – Betty Bailey
Sylvia – Audrey Christianson
Frank Gibbons – John Wharton
Bob Mitchell – Reg Higley
Reg – David Foord-Divers
Queenie – Claire Dingley
Vi – Valerie Birmingham
Sam Leadbitter – Keith Jarman
Phyllis Blake – Jan King
Edie – Dot Hamlin
Billy – Tony Bate
Crew
Stage Manager – John Brace
Assistant Stage Manager – Kathy Clark
Properties – Sheila Fryatt, Lyn Grizell, Hillary Medhurst
Costumes – Molly Pritchard, Joan Robarts
Lighting – Len Huntley, Bill Brooks
Sound – Andy Howe