Woking Amateur Operatic Society is a local musical theatre

company based in Woking, Surrey. We have produced over 80

shows since its formation over 40 years ago. We stage two shows

a year, here at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre, as well as fundraising

concerts and other social events. We are a registered charity, number 284122.

We welcome all newcomers to the society, both on and off-stage. If you are interested

in volunteering to help in any aspect of our theatre productions, please do contact us

via our website:

Chairman – Graham Kirby-Smith

Treasurer – Keith White

Membership – Sue Gaastra

Committee Member – Louisa Nye

Business Manager – Martine Young

Secretary – Lynda Lawrence

Committee Member – Sam Moylan-Heydt

The National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) was

founded in 1899 and has a membership of around 2,500 amateur

theatre groups and 3,000 individual enthusiasts throughout the UK

who are engaged in staging musicals, opera, plays, concerts and pantomime in a wide

variety of performing venues, ranging from the country’s leading professional theatres

to tiny village halls.

NODA's mission is to support the education and information needs of individuals and

organisations with high quality services and products that contribute to the success of

amateur theatre, as well as encouraging appreciation of the sector by participants and

audiences alike.

They aim to give a shared voice to the amateur theatre sector; to help amateur societies

and individuals achieve the highest standards of best practice and performance; to

provide leadership and advice to enable amateur theatre to tackle the challenges and

opportunities of the 21st century. If you would like to find out more about NODA and its

range of services, please visit

http://www.waos.info/

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, a very warm welcome to you and thank

you for joining us! At our summer fundraiser 2017, we invited the audiences to

fill out surveys which included asking which shows they’d like to see us do –

and Little Shop of Horrors was the 2nd favourite audience choice, so here it is,

as requested!

Back in the WAOS Director’s seat, we are very pleased to welcome back the visionary behind our

double award-winning 2015 production of Sweeney Todd: James Fortune! Creative as ever, James

has again inspired the cast to deliver a production of high impact, high energy and many moments

of shock! I think you won’t be disappointed. Thanks must also go to our Musical Director Brian D

Steel for all of his excellent work on the music, and very special thanks to Zoe Davis, who joined

as a cast member for our spring production of 9 to 5, and has taken on her first (hopefully of many)

shows as choreographer for WAOS. Whether it’s dancing with bottles, brooms, or in the style of

Elvis, it’s all down to her – a fantastic job.

2018 is proving to be another exciting year – our production of 9 to 5 in May received rave reviews,

including these, posted on our Facebook page: "What a brilliant show. Your group just gets better

and better. I wouldn't want to miss anything you do.", "Thoroughly entertaining performance tonight.

All of you should be feeling exhilarated."

We then put on a couple of evenings of Wartime Memories at the end of August 2018 to mark 100

years since the end of the First World War. This led to us being invited by the Horsell Residents

Association to reprise the show at 8pm this Sunday 11th November at St Mary's Church in Horsell,

as part of "Battle's Over", a nationwide Day of Commemorative Events. Do come along if you are

free!

Some of our members will also be providing some entertainment at the Horsell Care Christmas

party on 5th December. I was voted in as the new Chairman in July this year, and I am very keen

for us to continue to support local community groups and events, so if you would like us to provide

entertainment for you, please do get in touch.

And of course, if you think you might like to be involved in the WAOS community, you would be

most welcome! The introduction evening for our next show Moll Flanders, will be at 7:45pm on

Monday 19th November at the Old Woking Community Centre. Whether you would like to perform

on stage, join our production team, help backstage, make costumes, paint scenery or even serving

tea at our rehearsals, we would love to meet you.

Graham Kirby-Smith

Based on a 1960 horror comedy film of the same name by Roger Corman, this deviously delicious

Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical has devoured the hearts of theatre goers for over

30 years. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Beauty and The Beast

and Aladdin) are the creative geniuses behind what has become one of the most popular shows

in the world.

Almost everyone knows the story. Seymour Krelborn, the meek flower shop assistant who stumbles

across a new breed of plant he names “Audrey 2” – after his co-worker crush. This foul-mouthed,

R&B-singing carnivorous Venus Flytrap-like plant promises unending fame and fortune to the

downtrodden Seymour as long as he keeps feeding it… BLOOD! Over time, though, Seymour

discovers Audrey 2’s out of this world origins and its intent towards global domination!

Other wonderful characters are Audrey, the delicate and vulnerable work colleague of Seymour’s,

her brutal boyfriend dentist Orin Scrivello D.D.S. and the Skid Row flower shop owner, Mr Mushnik.

In addition, the entire show is narrated by 1960s-influenced Greek chorus comprising Ronnette,

Crystal and Chiffon. Do those names ring a bell?

One of the longest-running Off-Broadway shows, this charmingly tongue-in-cheek comedy, has

been produced worldwide to incredible success. Usually a show written for just eight actors, we

have enlarged that and have nearly forty people in the cast. One of my famous epic productions.

Our version has both dark and light moments and is entirely suitable for children as I know they

love watching people being eaten by a massive twelve-foot plant! We really hope you enjoy our

version of this wonderful musical and thank you for coming. All my love, James.

James Fortune

James Fortune

James has been writing and directing all his life including feature films both in

Europe and Hollywood such as Olympus Force starring Christopher Lee, Joss

Ackland, Linda Thorson, Richard Todd and Linda Lusardi. Shows in the West End

include Prisoner Cell Block H starring Lily Savage, Stand By Me starring Grace

Kennedy and Troubadour starring Kim Braden. On television, James wrote and

directed To Be Perfectly Frank starring Michael Crawford and many commercials and

fashion shows.

Semi-professional theatre productions have included The Witches of Eastwick, Titanic, Parade, Mame,

Calamity Jane and his hilarious and unique production of HMS Pinafore for the Epsom Light Opera

Company; Kiss Me, Kate for BANAOS, and Calamity Jane again for the Lyric Players.

Three of these won the coveted NODA award for Excellence, the amateur Oscars. He also won two

NODA awards for his version of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street for WAOS – the

Accolade of Musical Excellence and The Haslemere Trophy for Technical Excellence.

James is delighted to be back with WAOS, directing a brand-new production of Little Shop of Horrors

with the usual superb cast and crew. James is a member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, one of

only 300 in the world, and is a four times Surrey Magic Champion! James is a professional performer

and a magical consultant to the entertainment industry.

Brian D Steel

Olympus Force Brian first became involved with musical theatre in 1975, when he

conducted some rehearsals and then played percussion for the St Mary's Hospital

Medical School production of The Gondoliers. Since then, he has been very busy as

a pianist, percussionist, repetiteur, arranger and musical director.

During the past 29 years, Brian has musically directed some 90 shows, working with

some of London's most prestigious operatic societies, as well as a number of

theatrical companies in Surrey, Sussex and Devon.

Little Shop of Horrors is Brian's first full show as Musical Director for WAOS, although he did MD a one-

off production of Trial By Jury, with the combined forces of WAOS and KASJOG, for the Queen Mother's

Centenary Gala Concert at the New Victoria Theatre, back in 2000.

Further to musical shows, Brian is deeply passionate about "pure" music. His interests include keyboard

improvisation, baroque and classical music, ragtime and jazz. In addition to piano, orchestral percussion

and kit drums, Brian plays the pipe organ, accordion and synthesizer. He has long been fascinated by

the use of computers in music, and uses them both for musical experimentation, and to compose,

arrange, orchestrate and print the material used in his musical revues and show adaptations.

Zoe DavisZoe joined WAOS in November 2017, with her first show being 9 to 5

after recently moving to the area. Before that she had been dancing at

a local dance group in Somerset from the age of 6 to 18, then

transitioning into Amateur Musical Theatre and pantomimes for the

following 7 years.

She has played a number of principal roles in pantomimes including Prince Rupert in

Cinderella and Aladdin in Aladdin where she received a regional award and nomination

in those roles respectively. She has also had a number of dance captain and assistant

choreographer roles including Fame!, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor

Dreamcoat. This is her sole choreographer debut.

This horror comedy rock musical by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman

tells the story of meek flower shop assistant, Seymour Krelborn who pines for co-worker

Audrey. They work in a shabby, downmarket flower shop in Skid Row under their boss

Mr Mushnik.

During a total eclipse, Seymour discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey 2, which

feeds only on human flesh and blood. The growing plant attracts a great deal of business

for the previously struggling store.

After Seymour feeds Audrey's brutal dentist boyfriend, Orin, to the plant – after Orin's

accidental death – he is tempted by offers of money and good times to distribute similar

plants all over the world. In the end, Mr Mushnik, Audrey and, finally, Seymour himself

fall victim to the increasingly bloodthirsty plant – and so do we!

The video and/or audio recording of this performance

by any means whatsoever are strictly prohibited.

Seymour Krelborn Matt Gardner

Audrey Beth Robinson

Mr Mushnik Mark Mowbray

Doo-Wop Girl - Ronnette Susana Colunga

Doo-Wop Girl - Crystal Jenny Jordan

Doo-Wop Girl - Chiffon Jemma Western

Orin Scrivello D.D.S. Graham Kirby-Smith

The Voice of Audrey 2 Tim Beasley

The Winos Samantha Bottle and Patrick Coad

Audrey 2 Principal Puppeteer Georgina Clifton

Puppeteers Ellen McDermott and William McDermott

Bernstein Alex Haben

Mrs Luce Natasha Duffus-Butler

Skip Snip Peter ‘Wiz’ Howitt

Patricia Martin Melanie Eloranta

AM Radio Disc Jockey William McDermott

Robert Angus, Josie Barnett, Jacob Beaver, Samantha Bottle, Genifa Brownsea,

Amanda Carey-McDermott, Cathy Chappell, Patrick Coad, Imogen Cooke,

Francesca Di Domenico, Natasha Duffus-Butler, Amy Eloranta, Kate Eloranta,

Melanie Eloranta, Alex Haben, Andy Hall, Peter ‘Wiz’ Howitt,

Sonia Huntley-Robertson, Ellen McDermott, William McDermott, Louisa Nye,

Amel Oudjida, Sylvie Petersen, Sarah Platt, Sam Sharpe,

Jessica-Mae Thompson, Natalie Tidey, Keith White, Alan Wyle.

Keyboard Brian D Steel

Lead Violin Barbara Steel

Reed 1 Eleanor Sandbrook

Reed 2 Zoë Phillips

Trumpet Nick Trish

Percussion Simon Connor

Director James Fortune

Musical Director Brian D Steel

Choreographer Zoe Davis

Production Coordinators Graham Kirby-Smith & Louisa Nye

Stage Manager Tracey Gillard

Deputy Stage Manager Victoria Percival

Assistant Stage Manager Mike Griffiths

Crew Julia Da Costa, Nicola Jordan, Geoff Morris,

Stuart Roy, Jenny Russell & Lisa Young

Sound [Show Works] Oscar Thompson & Katherine Winfield

Lighting Design Richard Pike

Lighting Crew Richard Pike with Mark Cox

Set Design Mike Bartlett

Set Construction Mike Griffiths with Brendan Burbage & Stuart Roy

Puppet Pod 1 Constructed by Georgina Clifton

Puppet Pod 2 Loaned by James Fortune

Puppet Pod 3 & 4 Hired from Scenetec

Set Painting Lorraine Landon & Dianne Skeel with Cerys Sanders

Props Coordinators Tracey Gillard assisted by Sue Gaastra

Costumes [from WAOS] Cathy Chappell, Ellen McDermott & Martine Young

Make-Up Lynda Lawrence & Julie Lawson assisted by

Zoe Davis, Lorraine Landon & Dianne Skeel

Chaperones Kirsty Angus, Gillian Freeman, Vicki Thompson and

Karen Woodland

Front of House Manager Martine Young

Front of House Caroline Croucher, Zoe Davis,

Nicki Farrar, Beth Flitton, Sue Gaastra,

Hannah Kitchener, Maggie Kitchener,

Rhiannon Kitchener, Elizabeth Loveder, Clive Moon,

Sam Moylan-Heydt, Anja Mrozek, Franek Mrozek,

Dianne Skeel & Roger Thomas

Box Office Keith White & Lisa Young

Publicity Brian Higgs with Tasha Bennett & Will McDermott

Front of House Display Martine Young

Art, Photography, Programme & Website Lisa Young

Prologue – Little Shop of Horrors

Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette

Skid Row (Downtown)

Company

Da-Doo

Seymour with Chiffon, Crystal and Ronnette

Grow for Me

Seymour

Ya Never Know

Mushnik, Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette and Seymour

Somewhere That’s Green

Audrey

Closed For Renovations

Seymour, Audrey and Mushnik

Dentist!

Orin with Chiffon, Crystal, Ronnette and Company

Mushnik And Son

Mushnik, Seymour and Company

Feed Me (Git It)

Seymour and Audrey 2

Now (It’s Just The Gas)

Orin and Seymour

20 minute interval

Call Back In The Morning

Seymour and Audrey

Suddenly, Seymour

Seymour and Audrey

Suppertime

Seymour and Audrey 2

The Meek Shall Inherit

Company

Finale (Don’t Feed The Plants)

Company

Matt GardnerMatt joined WAOS as Mr Wickham in Pride & Prejudice: The Musical in 2016

and has been a regular fixture since then, playing Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in Kiss

Me, Kate, Mr Snow in Carousel and Joe in 9 to 5.

Matt has always had a passion for the stage, and from an early age was

involved in school productions and concerts, with his first principal role as

Joseph in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the age of 13.

Having studied Dance at Northumbria University Matt briefly worked as a

professional dancer and toured with Northern Youth Dance Company.

In recent years, while working as an accountant, Matt has appeared in numerous productions in

various roles most memorably Ren in Footloose (Guiseley Amateurs - February 2016), Leo Bloom

in The Producers (Keighley Amateurs - October 2015) and Bobby Child in Crazy for You (Guiseley

Amateurs - February 2015). Matt is delighted to be working with WAOS again and looks forward

to future outings with the society.

Beth RobinsonBeth has been performing since she was five years old and has never looked

back. In her teens she performed at both the Globe Theatre and Russian

Embassy in London and most recently took a guest spot singing in the famous

‘Birdland’ club in New York.

Her true passion lies in performing musical theatre, putting her own

adaptation to musical roles from the West End and Broadway shows.

Her past roles include Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5, Lydia Bennet in the UK Premiere of Pride &

Prejudice: The Musical, Belle in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast, Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes, Yonah

in Children of Eden and Ann in Half a Sixpence to name a few.

Beth is now delighted to play the sweet, yet tragic role of Audrey (which was made famous by

Ellen Greene from the 1986 film) with WAOS in this production. Make sure to bring some tissues!

Mark MowbrayMark joined the show just some weeks ago after Brian Higgs unfortunately had

to pull out, leaving big shoes to fill.

With just weeks to go, Mark has really enjoyed getting involved with this show

and learning really quickly what it takes to bring Mr Mushnik alive! He would

like to thank the cast and crew for their patience and support.

Susana ColungaSusana is excited to play Ronnette and has thoroughly enjoyed working with her

other Doo-Wops, Crystal and Chiffon. Last seen as Judy in 9 to 5, Susana is grateful

to perform again with WAOS. She is a recent graduate from Royal Holloway,

University of London where she performed in numerous shows and concerts

including Anything Goes and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Originally from Chicago, her

American theatre credits include Legally Blonde, Once On This Island and The

Caucasian Chalk Circle. Susana would like to thank the creative team and the entire

cast and crew for all the memories made. She would also like to thank her family

and friends for all of their support over the years – she couldn’t do it without them!

Jenny JordanJenny has thoroughly enjoyed rehearsals (and "gin-hearsals") with her brilliant doo-

wop companions and the rest of the dedicated cast and crew. Little Shop of Horrors

has long been a personal favourite as Jenny remembers singing and dancing

around her front room with her brother, Chris, along to the film. She is very excited

to finally get to perform in this absolute gem of a musical! Previous shows with

WAOS include Oliver!, Sweeney Todd, Wuthering Heights and The Drowsy

Chaperone.

Jenny’s first performance job was as a Bluecoat at Pontins. She then studied

Performing Arts at university, before completing a performance course with the ENO Baylis Programme.

She performed in two show bands in the North East whilst at university and spent some time as a solo

vocalist. She spent three summer seasons working abroad, including as Lead Production Vocalist for

Thomson Gold through Openwide International. She now thoroughly enjoys keeping up her

performance hobby around her HR job and busy family life. Thanks to Quentin, Spencer and Lauren for

putting up with the many rehearsals and tracks played on repeat for the last six months!

Jemma WesternJemma is excited to be making her debut with WAOS, as well as returning to the

boards after a ten-year hiatus. Previous principal roles Jemma has played in both

Hertfordshire and Leicester include Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel, Nicki in Sweet

Charity, Cinderella in Into The Woods, Minnie-Fay in Hello, Dolly! Miss Granville in

Daisy Pulls It Off and Hobby/Cordelia Parry in Teechers.

Outside of WAOS, Jemma’s “proper job” is as a freelance learning & development

consultant & coach, however she is also a keen singer and has been in numerous

bands for many years. Her proudest achievement was having the opportunity to support jazz legend

Humphrey Lyttelton in the Alban Arena in Hertfordshire. More recently, you may have caught her as a

guest vocalist with the rock band “Head” in and around Woking and London.

Little Shop of Horrors has always been one of Jemma’s all-time favourite shows and she is thrilled for the

opportunity to play Chiffon. Special thanks go to her Woo-Wah who probably knows her harmonies

better than she does and has spent the last 6 months with various songs from tonight constantly going

around in his head – sorry about that. Thank you to the Little Shop cast and crew for making her feel

very welcome in the society and making her laugh, a lot! Finally, a special mention must go to her fellow

“Doo-Wops” – she couldn’t have picked two better ragamuffins to spend time with, and will miss the

numerous “gin-hearsals” needed to prepare us for tonight!

Graham Kirby-Smith

Graham is Woking born and bred, has been a member of WAOS since

2012, and somehow found himself elected as Chairman in July this year!

Recent onstage roles include Dwayne in 9 to 5, Corny Collins in

Hairspray, Mr Collins in Pride & Prejudice: The Musical, Pirelli in Sweeney

Todd, Papageno in The Magic Flute and Lord Evelyn Oakleigh in

Anything Goes. He also co-directed the WAOS Fundraisers 2017 & 2018.

Music is a great passion for him away from the theatre too. Graham often plays keyboard

at the informal, lively, contemporary 6:30pm Sunday services at Christ Church Woking,

and at Woking United Reformed Church's monthly 8pm Wednesday evening 'Recharge'

services, as well as the 11am Good Friday service in the Jubilee Square each year with the

'Unity' band, and at barn dances with 'Six Beats in a Bar'!

He can next be seen on stage in Cody Musical Theatre’s production of Evita, 19th-23rd

March 2019 at the Princes Hall, Aldershot.

Tim Beasley

Tim is delighted to be back with WAOS for the fantastic Little Shop of

Horrors.

Since his WAOS debut in Sweeney Todd in 2015, Tim has played roles

of increasingly questionable character, from grumpy-but-noble Mr

Darcy in Pride & Prejudice: The Musical, to self-serving-but-loveable

Fred/Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate, culminating as a manipulative, man-eating plant, which

is either a sign of his versatility or a trend towards typecasting.

Tim would like to thank James, our USDA prime director, Brian and Zoe for the mouth-

watering opportunity to play such an all-consuming role, in a show full of tender

performances you can really get your teeth into.

Samantha Bottle & Patrick Coad

Georgina Clifton, William McDermott, Ellen McDermott

Alex Haben Natasha Duffus-Butler

Peter ‘Wiz’ Howitt Melanie Eloranta

You are warmly invited to attend our introduction evening for our next show Moll

Flanders. Here you will meet the director, musical director and the production team. You

will find out about the vision and character breakdown of the show as well as audition

pieces and key dates for your diary. It is a relaxed and informal evening open to

everyone, no matter what your stage experience is. We look forwarding to seeing you!

Date and Time: Monday 19th November 2018 at 7:45pm

Venue: Old Woking Community Centre

Sundridge Road

Woking, Surrey

GU22 9AT

WAOS.Woking woking_waos www.waos.info info@waos.info

http://www.waos.info/

1974 The Boy Friend

1975 Bless The Bride

1976 White Horse Inn / The Gondoliers

1977 Orpheus In The Underworld / Oklahoma!

1978 The Merry Widow / The Geisha

1979 The Gypsy Baron / Ruddigore

1980 Lilac Time / The Desert Song

1981 Free As Air / Bitter Sweet

1982 Merrie England / Carousel

1983 Summer Song / My Fair Lady

1984 The Gipsy Princess / Brigadoon

1985 The Pajama Game / Show Boat

1986 Princess Ida / The Rebel Maid

1987 Viva Mexico / No, No, Nanette

1988 Die Fledermaus / Calamity Jane

1989 Kismet / The Yeomen Of The Guard

1990 Fiddler On The Roof / Half A Sixpence

1991 Oklahoma! / The Merry Widow

1992 Hello Dolly! / The Pirates Of Penzance

1993 Blitz! * / Camelot

1994 Carousel / Lilac Time

1995 Charlie Girl / The Mikado *

1996 Orpheus In The Underworld / The Music Man

1997 Kiss Me, Kate / Gigi *

1998 Brigadoon / Peg O’ My Heart

1999 Anything Goes / Annie Get Your Gun

2000 In The Spotlight / South Pacific †

2001 Robert And Elizabeth / My Fair Lady

2002 Guys And Dolls / Fiddler On The Roof †

2003 A Music Hall Extravaganza / How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying

2004 Oklahoma! / Jack The Ripper *†

2005 Calamity Jane †‡ / Little Shop of Horrors

2006 Bye Bye Birdie / The Slipper and The Rose

2007 The Boy Friend / Carousel

2008 Moll Flanders † / Salad Days

2009 Into The Woods * / Songs That Won The War / Blitz!

2010 The Hired Man * / South Pacific

2011 The Pajama Game / The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas

2012 Bugsy Malone / The Pirates of Penzance

2013 Children of Eden † / Anything Goes

2014 Oklahoma! / Oliver!

2015 Wuthering Heights / Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street *†

2016 The Magic Flute / The Drowsy Chaperone / Something Old, Something New / Pride & Prejudice

2017 Kiss Me, Kate * / A Night Of Musical Cabaret / Carousel †

2018 9 to 5 / Wartime Memories * NODA Award Winning Production

† NODA Award Other Than Production

‡ NODA Programme Competition National Winner

In recognition of her long association with Woking Amateur Operatic Society and her

work performed on the Society’s behalf, we are pleased to acknowledge our life member:

Mrs Peggy Prosser

The support of the following patrons of the Society is gratefully acknowledged:

Mrs Theresa Amor

John & Veronica Brown

Mrs Jenny Grayson

Mrs Pam Knight

Mrs Lynda Lawrence

Mr & Mrs R C Norris

Being a patron means that financial support can be given by those who wish to be

involved with the society, but who might be unable to spare the time to help in a more

active manner. For a minimum annual donation of £20 (£30 for couples), patrons receive:

recognition in each show programme

a complimentary programme when buying tickets for a show

If you would like to become a patron, please send your name, postal address, e-mail

address and telephone number, along with your remittance, to: Sue Gaastra, 18 Hill

Close, Horsell, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4TE or by e-mail to membership@waos.info

During the interval, you will have a chance to enter our free draw

to win 2 free tickets to our next show Moll Flanders!

The winner of the ticket draw is:

Ricardo Lopes

mailto:membership@waos.info