FRODSHAM Players are to present Jessica Swale’s adaptation of Frances Hodgson-Burnett’s timeless classic “The Secret Garden” at St Laurence’s Church, Frodsham on April 4,5,7 and 8.
The story has held its place as one of the best-loved children’s stories in the world for more than 100 years.
It is 1911, and spoilt young Mary Lennox, daughter of the Viceroy of India, is waited upon hand and foot by Indian servants but neglected by her cold, aloof mother. But Mary’s privileged life ends abruptly ; she is left an orphan, and finds herself sent back to England to live with her distant uncle in the cold, forbidding and unwelcoming Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors.
Misselthwaite is no place for children. Mary’s widowed uncle, his body and spirit crushed by grief, cannot bear to look at her. Strange noises at night convince Mary that the house holds a secret. Who is it that cries out as darkness falls? Mary realises that she can’t solve the mystery alone, but when her maid Martha offers the hand of friendship, she is rebuffed. Servants can’t be friends with their mistresses, can they?
Slowly, Mary’s iciness thaws as she explores Misselthwaite and finds friendship among the servants, their families and the animals on the moor. Will Mary uncover the source of the cries in the night? Will her curiosity lead her to solve the greatest of Misselthwaites’ mysteries, the legend of the Secret Garden?
This show is suitable for all ages and will be performed in the atmospheric setting of the 11th century St Laurence’s Church.
Tickets, priced £9, are available at www.frodshamplayers.com, by phone on 01928 732285 or at Dandelion, Church Street, Frodsham.
The cast is as follows: Mary, Eva Lemmy; Martha, Catrin Jones; Dickon, Jaiden Patel; Colin, Ollie Cowell; Mrs. Medlock, Carol Crooks; Archibald Craven, Ian Lancaster; Ben Weatherstaff, Douglas Cashin; Mrs. Phipps, Jackie Pooler; Mr Pitcher, James Hutchinson; Dr Craven, David Leslie; Mrs Lennox – Louise Doyle; Mr Lennox, James Hutchinson; Ayah, Tilly Patel; Inspector 1, Jake Powell; Inspector 2, Michelle Parker; Dr. Madeleine Bres, Julia Shannon; Dog puppeteer, Jake Powell; Lamb puppeteer, Joseph Cowell.