Grace Bertram , Alan Whitfield, Barbara Nixon and Margaret White.
Alan Whitfield writes in 2020 : I was not first choice for Mr Collins. I got collared for the part in an unexpected way. John Spencer was rehearsing the role in the classroom adjacent to the art room with the rest of the cast and I stood outside making faces at him. Unfortunately Joe Townshend, who was the producer, caught me at it and dragged me into the classroom and instructed me to audition for the part. That was how I became Mr Collins. There was one line in the production which caused some hilarity in the balcony, where all our 4th form classmates had been deposited, when we performed in front of the School. Elizabeth’s refusal caused Mr Collins no problem at all, and it was his response that caused the merriment. He retorted “my affections are not fixed” : which sort of encompassed my vigorous inclination to flirt, whenever the opportunity presented itself. A few years’ later, when I moved to Warrington, my wife persuaded me to join an amateur dramatic society, mainly to do scenery. It wasn’t long before I was doing bit parts, which went on to leads in productions like “A Man for All Seasons” and “ An Inspector Calls” and also three years as the Dame in pantomime. This all came to an abrupt end when my job took me down south and even after retiring nearly 30 years’ ago I never regained the inclination to take any more acting parts.
Alan Whitfield writes in 2020 : I was not first choice for Mr Collins. I got collared for the part in an unexpected way. John Spencer was rehearsing the role in the classroom adjacent to the art room with the rest of the cast and I stood outside making faces at him. Unfortunately Joe Townshend, who was the producer, caught me at it and dragged me into the classroom and instructed me to audition for the part. That was how I became Mr Collins.
There was one line in the production which caused some hilarity in the balcony, where all our 4th form classmates had been deposited, when we performed in front of the School. Elizabeth’s refusal caused Mr Collins no problem at all, and it was his response that caused the merriment. He retorted “my affections are not fixed” : which sort of encompassed my vigorous inclination to flirt, whenever the opportunity presented itself. A few years’ later, when I moved to Warrington, my wife persuaded me to join an amateur dramatic society, mainly to do scenery. It wasn’t long before I was doing bit parts, which went on to leads in productions like “A Man for All Seasons” and “ An Inspector Calls” and also three years as the Dame in pantomime. This all came to an abrupt end when my job took me down south and even after retiring nearly 30 years’ ago I never regained the inclination to take any more acting parts.