Look out Codgers here comes the Biddies!
Don't miss this comedy by Don Reid coming to the stage in a theatre near you in 2012!
What does this have to do with the Embroiderers' Guild? Read on to find out......
 |
|
After CODGERS in 2008, it w as time to hear from the ladies - so move over boys, here come the Biddies!
Five ordinarily marvellous women find themselves back in their infants school classroom plying their needles in a good old-fashioned session of ‘stitch and bitch’. Their confessions are frank, their rivalries intense and their jokes outrageous. They discover a common frustration with the limitations of being female and mature in a world still largely defined by men.
Accidentally locked in the classroom, with nothing but ingenuity, Adora Cream Wafers and a bucket to get them through the crisis, unknown reserves come to the fore. Released from their own constraints, they rediscover their capacity to love, forgive - and take control. If you can’t beat 'em, join 'em!
Vulnerable, feisty and in full bloom, these gals are everything ... except old!
Click here for the PDF brochure Biddies by Don Reid
With Maggie Blinco, Annie Byron, Jeanie Drynan, Donna Lee, Linden Wilkinson
Written by Don Reid, Directed by Wayne Harrison, Designed by Graham McLean
Itinerary:
Click here for a PDF list of the NSW Itinery Biddies Itinerary NSW
Belrose, Glen Street Theatre – Wed 11 to Sat 28 April 2012
to purchase tickets click here http://www.glenstreet.com.au/theatre/biddies/)
Parramatta, Riverside Theatres – Tue 1 to Sat 5 May 2012
to purchase tickets click here http://www.riversideparramatta.com.au/performance.asp?pID=1528 )
Followed by a 38 venue national tour! (click here for National Tour details Biddies Itinerary QLD, VIC, SA, WA)
Now here is the inside story and how the Embroiderers' Guild is involved:
(As told by Fiona Press, Associate Producer of Biddies)
Don Reid is a very old actor friend of Judy Ferris, who introduced him to needlepoint by suggesting he take classes at Mosman with Deanne. That was more than 20 years ago and he has been an addicted needlepointer ever since, often stitching backstage when on lengthy tours, just as his old mates Nancye Hayes and Reg Livermore do.
He’s also a playwright. Biddies is the female companion piece to Don’s very successful play about the senior Aussie male (called what else but Codgers!) and is partly inspired by Guild member Judy’s experience of getting together some old school mates for a special stitching project.
But Biddies requires four, nearly complete canvasses as props for the cast to work on stage – and the director, Wayne Harrison, intends on taking needlework to new heights…
To solve this tricky practical problem, Don met Doris Waltho and Lesley Grigg at Headquarters where they advised him on frames. Canvasses with a lovely floral motif already stitched were acquired (and that’s another interesting story…), but some willing hands were needed to help complete the yards of boring old tent stitch for the backgrounds.
Enter Hattie Suna, Ann-Marie Bakewell, Jenny O’Brien and the group at the Manors in Mosman. They kindly took the canvasses in hand and have shared the work around, completing them in record time and to a very high standard – naturally!
Don and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them - it was just like being inside the play! They showed us needle-threading tricks, their chatelaines and those lovely mug bags. They’ve invited the cast to one of their sessions and the actresses are really looking forward to it.
The support we’ve had from Guild Headquarters and members has been fantastic. We look forward to having lots of stitchers enjoy the play as it tours the country – forty theatres in all, but with its world premiere in Sydney. Needlepoint centre stage and in the limelight!