Redlynch Players 
Redlynch Village Hall, Redlynch
Jon Cockeram 
13 May 2026
If I was to say “1970s” to you, you’d probably be thinking psychedelic patterns, bellbottom trousers and platform shoes, David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust and more disco than you can shake a stick at. Redlynch Players have brought us an evening of one act plays all set in this decade with their production A Touch of 70s Nostalgia.
First up was Bus Stop by Rae Shirley, and you won’t win any prizes for guessing where this one is set. Five minutes before the play was due to start, Ali Silver came out playing the first woman to sit at the stop (Woman 1 per the programme – I believe the play has her unnamed), and this was itself very impressive; managing to stay entirely in character, looking bored and fidgeting without looking at the audience even whilst they were still settling in and chatting away, and managing to do this without the use of any props! I think I’d have found this very nerve wracking, especially as there was a slight delay in starting off which meant that the five minutes became ten, but Ali managed this with aplomb. Shortly after the official start, she was joined by Sarah Newman (Woman 2 per the programme) who provided some fantastic comedic contrast, then came along Mrs Hickery, played by Sue Ball, who added a delicious touch of acid to the scene along with a mouthwatering bag of chips. Flustered Mrs Finney, portrayed by Cheyrl Webb, brought a slightly ditzy character to the bus stop, then finally they were joined by a rather distracted Gina Hodsman (Bookworm, per the programme) to bring the scene to a nice comedic finish. Overall, this was a really well-done piece, with great characterisation and comedic timing. I did feel sorry for Sue at one point when the curse of eating food on stage struck and she struggled to deliver her lines, but minor corpsing aside this didn’t break the flow of the play at all.
Secondly, we had a monologue called The Nannie by George Melly, delivered by Gina Hodsman as an entirely different character, the titular Nannie. This was delivered from the floor instead of from the stage, principally I think due to having a very large perambulator as a prop. This was, perhaps understandably, the shortest piece of the evening and Gina kept us engaged throughout, but I did feel that the piece itself wasn’t perhaps the best choice, delivering a few smiles but falling a little flat compared to the great comedic atmosphere that Bus Stop had built.
After an interval, we were back on stage for the final piece of the evening, People Like Us by Cherry Vooght, set in a caravan park. Sue Ball plays Maud, a cantankerous old lady forced to come on holiday with her younger sister Alice, played by Sarah Newman, and her daughter Annie, played by Gina in her third and yet distinctly different role of the evening. Ali Silver also pops up briefly again as one of their neighbours in the caravan park. As with Bus Stop, Sue does come on stage a few minutes before the play actually starts, but at least this time was ably distracted by a magazine. This play is still humorous, with some acerbic comments coming from Maud despite everyone’s best efforts to get along, but also had some really profound moments dealing with loneliness, death and family dynamics. A wonderful contrast compared to the other two pieces and rounded the evening off very nicely.
Overall, the evening was very entertaining – the fact that a relatively small cast can play two (or in Gina’s case, three) roles across three pieces, each with very distinct characterisations, is to be commended. The costuming (Cheyrl Webb and Sue Ball in addition to their acting duties) and props (Mark Newman and Marilyn Perry) were also very well done and very appropriate to the 1970s. Overall Lloyd Perry directed a lovely evening’s entertainment, with a full range of emotions and some fantastic acting on display. Whilst I perhaps may not have been the ideal target audience for the nostalgia part of the evening, being a child of the 80s, I had a thoroughly entertaining time – now where can I get some bellbottom trousers?
