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
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 –
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,
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 –
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 Relif 1986.
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
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). His recording credits
include The Great Musicals - From
Broadway to Hollywood.
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
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
Rachel Bell had previously appeared on television in For 4 Tonight, and on stage in Once A Catholic.
Belinda Lang had previously appeared on stage in Angry
Housewives.
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.
Tina Jones, and, Christopher Biggins may have previously taken part in Thing A Thon.
Clive
Carter, and,
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/
