SPOTLIGHT
June 2026
Edited by Doug Craig
Stage One General Enquiries: 97697962
Tickets: stageonetheatre.net/tickets
Editorial
As the temperatures increase now, work at Stage One cools off slightly although we are already into rehearsal and construction for the October play (see below). Club nights will continue throughout the summer but the July event will be an evening of meeting your friends for a chat with a drink or two but no entertainment. Stage One still needs more support from the membership for help with and attendance at productions and at Club Nights. We can only survive with the active support of our membership.
Productions
October
On 1 to 3 October is Dirty Dusting directed by Doug Craig, which features 3 cleaning ladies who, having been made redundant, find an unexpected and outrageous way of supplementing their redundancy pay. Bawdy and hilarious this is definitely one for grown-ups! Cast is; Jan West, Diane Bailey, Carol Harvey and Thomas Schendel. Don’t miss this hilarious play which has done many national tours in the UK and has entertained thousands.
December
Our Panto this Year is Camelot and the Knights of the Desk written and directed by Sian Williams so you can bank on some very unexpected twists and a lot of laughter. Dates are: Sunday 6 Matinee, then Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12. This is a large-cast, spectacular show which will appeal to all ages. Don’t miss it! FINAL AUDITIONS FOR PANTO: Wednesday 3 June at 7pm in the theatre. Contact treasurer@stageonetheatre.net in advance if possible please.
Review of Club Night – Thursday 21st May 2026
By Roger Bailey
Our May club night was held, as usual, on the third Thursday of May at the theatre. We had announced an open mike evening and were delighted with the number of acts who turned up to entertain us. We are fortunate to have so many talented members, and to have attracted new members who can also entertain us.
The evening was introduced by Doug Craig and began with Roger Bailey who gave us a couple of acoustic guitar ballads in his characteristic finger picking style.
Roger was followed by Clive Humphries who turned up the volume a bit. Clive was joined for three more songs by Colin Tyndall, with his distinctive voice and thumping bass guitar.
A late addition to the entertainment was Verena Venus who sang a song from Frozen and then wowed the audience with a duet with Paul Hudson on two songs from The Little Shop of Horrors.
Somewhere along the way, Doug had discovered a budding comedian called Jürgen Rojahn who is currently without much in the way of experience, but some materiel that he wants to try out and develop. The big deal is that he brought about 20 friends with him, easily outnumbering the number of members present! Jurgen was very amusing and gave us a good few laughs and we have invited him back again so he can practice and develop his act.
SUPPORT YOUR CLUB NIGHTS
Club Nights
June 18th. This is planned to be a “Pride” quiz night hosted by Jessica Evans. Something different and should be a lot of fun.
July 16th This will be an informal “Come and chat with your friends” night, with no formal entertainment, as requested by several members at the last AGM.
August 20th. We plan to have a talk by the distinguished author and former Stage One writer and director Barry Appleton who was a main writer for TV’s Taggart and The Bill series. He also wrote 3 plays for Stage One in the 1990s
which were performed and well received. ‘No Room at the Pub’ Dec 1997, ‘Millie’ Dec 1998. ‘Dreamers’ Dec 1999 which was a skit on the film Casablanca.
In 1993, Barry Appleton won the Macallan award for Best Original Drama Serial for ‘Taggart’. Don’t miss this special Club Night!. You can read more on Barry Appleton in The History of Stage One Theatre which is available for only 5 euros at all Stage One events and performances. On the cover of this esteemed publication is the front of the programme for his play “Dreamers.”
The following is an extract from the publicity for his latest book:
Twentieth Century Cop The Flying Squad Detective Who Wrote 'The Bill'
Author: Barry Appleton, Oliver Crocker
Highlights.
'When the armed robber faced me with a sawn-off shotgun, I had to decide in that split second whether it was going to be him or me who had to fall… having a wife and kids waiting for me to get home safely was the greatest incentive imaginable. '
Before legendary telly coppers Frank Burnside and Jim Taggart investigated countless murders, one of their scriptwriters did it for real. Serving with the Metropolitan Police between 1957-1977, Barry Appleton rose the ranks from beat bobby to Detective Inspector. Now in his incredible true crime memoir, Barry offers a fresh first-hand perspective on many historic cases, including the gangland killings of Kray associates George Cornell and Ginger Marks, the violent death of playwright Joe Orton and the 1976 £8m Bank of America robbery. Barry Appleton investigated some of the most notable crimes of the twentieth century, from multi-million pound robberies to cold-blooded killings that shook the world. Walking the beat of the crime-ridden East End under the rule of the Krays, Barry went toeto-toe with the underworld, earning multiple commendations for his courage. Following a series of high-profile murder cases, he was assigned to the Flying Squad and went undercover to investigate the assassination of Martin Luther King. Life in the ‘Sweeney’ was dangerous and the detective’s dedication to the job saw him injured in the line of duty, pushing him and his family to the limit. After 20 years’ exemplary service with the Met, Barry’s crimefighting adventures continued when he achieved overnight success as the lead scriptwriter of The Bill, adding gritty realism to 50 episodes of the groundbreaking drama. Now Barry has taken on one final case to unravel his own incredible life story. How did a boy from the Welsh valleys end up in a shootout on the streets of London? What made a hard-nosed cop swap his snub-nosed Smith & Wesson for a second-hand typewriter? And who was the angel always by his side? Featuring dramatic flashback sequences and never-before-told behind-the-scenes stories from Britain’s longest-running police procedural drama, Twentieth Century Cop is an extraordinary true crime memoir that vividly captures life as an old school copper, on the streets and on the screen. Barry Appleton served as a police officer with the Metropolitan Police for 20 years, working on many high-profile cases and earning multiple commendations for ability, courage and determination. In 1984, he achieved overnight success as a screenwriter, becoming the lead writer of The Bill and injecting 50 episodes with gritty realism. In 1993, he won a Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for his Taggart screenplays. His other scriptwriting credits include C.A.T.S. Eyes, Circles of Deceit, London’s Burning, Mr. Palfrey of Westminster and Van der Valk. His novels include A Walking Shadow and East of Wild Goat Rocks. Barry retired to Cyprus with Pam, his wife for 49 years. They have two children and three grandchildren.
We had planned for Barry Appleton’s talk to be in August but we are hoping to move this to October when more people should be able to attend. More information asap.
September 17th will be our Annual Dinner. Details and invitations to apply for places will be issued shortly.
October 15th The One Act play has been withdrawn due to inability to cast.
Auntie Prue’s Advice Column.
Dear Auntie Prue
I have a problem or rather lots of problems. I crashed my car last year and as a result couldn’t get to work and lost my job. My wife decided she didn’t care for being poor and left me, taking the children, the dog and cat but leaving the smelly hamster. The smell from the hamster’s cage has enraged my neighbour who has complained to the landlord who is now taking steps to have me evicted on hygiene grounds. I thought I could live in our tent but thieves broke in last week and nicked the tent and a tin of chickpeas. I’m trying to remain cheerful by doing a bit of busking outside of Lidl’s but I keep getting beaten up by a woman with a very heavy accordion. I really need help with my life and someone to give me sound advice.
Eric Beetle
Scunthorpe
Auntie Prue says:
Dear Eric
You certainly do. Good luck!
