Scaplens Community Players 
Bournemouth Little Theatre, Bournemouth 
John Sivewright
9 May 2025
Scaplens Community Players, a theatre group aimed at bringing the local area’s history to life on the stage, have chosen, as this year’s production, to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a splendid evening of song, monologues and a one-act play giving us a taste of what WW2 life would have been like for BCP residents. Judging by the positive comments from the highly appreciative audience this evening at the Bournemouth Little Theatre, Scaplen’s have put together another winning production.
The evening began with an informative talk from Scaplens’ artistic director, Carole Allen, regaling us with anecdotes about WW2 life in the local area, setting the scene well. Scaplens’ Singers, consisting of Jordan Sky Finding, Andrea Pellegrini and Victoria Stanton then brought us a fine medley of songs of the WW2 era, with highlights including ‘Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree’ and ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’; the trio harmonised well, and their efforts will very well received. The Singers devised and rehearsed their own set and should be very happy with their efforts.
This was followed by monologues based on memories of Bournemouth and Poole residents from Nicola King, Elle Newing, David Vinter and Molly Jackson. Varied and memorable, these pieces offered a fine mixture of pathos and humour, as the actors worked hard to bring the monologues to life; particular credit is due to David for a performance of real vocal and physical animation and depth. Monologue director, Andrew Wyatt, did an excellent job helping the actors really get under the skin of their characters. The monologues were interspersed with some beautiful solo singing from Anne Ponting, including an especially lovely rendition of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’.
After the interval we were treated to a one-act play, Echoes Of Love, written by local playwright Katie Nutt, who also penned Scaplens’ production last year, Unbroken Bonds – A Woman’s War. Directed by Rachael De Courcey Beamish, who also featured as Mole, this play skilfully weaved several plots together, exploring some of the more emotional aspects of war life, such as shell-shock and soldiers missing in action, with the excitement surrounding the pending VE Day celebrations. The cast of 17 all performed well, with standout turns from Marie Bushell as Alice, emotional and unsure of the fate of her husband on the battlefield, Alice Hannibal as a feisty Susan, Scott Sullivan as the good-natured landlord Sam, Malachi Pike as cocky Frank (who is one to watch for the future) and Stuart Glossop made a big impression as the nasty Mr. Baines.
An awful lot of hard work and love clearly went into bringing this production to life; props and costumes were suitable for the period, while the staging and lighting were effective and unobtrusive. Sound effects were just right, and the music used throughout was highly effective. Carole Allen, who coordinated the production, should be very proud of her team’s efforts. This play is on a limited touring run, concluding tomorrow night at the Grasshopper in Poole. While tickets are sold out, do keep your eye out for details of next year’s production, as Scaplens go from strength to strength.
