null
  Loading... Please wait...

Categories

Sunshine Mountain

    a Musical Drama by John Bartlett



Synopsis

Drama Play with music : 'Sunshine Mountain' by John BartlettAn endearing look back at past times, when Sunday School charabanc outings were very popular and deckchair attendants ruled the beach! A group of excitable children are taken to the seaside for a day out by Miss Weatherspoon, a typical spinster of her day, and Mr Tilley, her rather uninspiring assistant. As in any group, some of the children are well-behaved, but others like to ‘push the envelope’ to see what they can get away with. During their journey and throughout the visit we see their fun and enjoyment as they experience the delights of more innocent times.

There are some lovely pastiches in the play too - a typical end-of-the-pier comedy patter routine, of the: “I say, I say!”, “What do you say?”, “My dog’s got no nose”, “Really how does he smell”, variety! A Punch and Judy sequence in which Mr Punch and all the other characters change from puppets to real characters and also a visit to the mysterious Gypsy fortune-teller, with prophetic and profound results.

The principal characters use the interesting device of a ‘flash-forward’ speech in a tight spotlight, which tells us what happened in their lives after that day out, sometimes sad, sometimes amusing but always compelling. The audience are invited to share the feelings and aspirations of the individual characters.

Further pathos and comment is provided by the 1930’s style band and singer who provide another layer to the overall effect of this amusing but poignant play.

Whilst the character’s range from children to mature adults the play can be staged in a variety of different ways:

  • A mixed-age society group
  • A youth group who could play all the parts
  • A co-production between a youth group or junior and an adult drama society
  • Or, for the more adventurous, an adult group who play the children, similar to the concept in ‘Blue Remembered Hills’.

Characters

(15m, 11f, 3m/f)
* signifies a principal part

The Home Front
    Mr Hobbs- 35-50, aspiring middle-class professional
    Mrs Hobbs- 30-45, typical middle-class housewife of the period

The Sunday School Outing
  *Miss Weatherspoon - a village spinster, ‘Miss Marple’, a Sunday School teacher
  *Mr Tilley - another Sunday School teacher
    Mr Reynolds - charabanc driver

The Boys
  *William Hobbs - 10-12, good-natured, ‘Jennings & Derbyshire’ type
  *Jonathan Clegg - 10-12
  *Philip Foley - 10-12
    McDonald - 10-12
    David Spencer - 10-12
    John Smith - 10-12, Janet’s brother
    Tucker - 10-12
    Gordonson - 10-12

The Girls
  *Sarah Hobbs - 14-15, just about to leave school, relatively mature
    Jacqueline Duckworth - 10-12
  *Celia Jones - 10-12, quietly spoken, plain
  *Catherine Jones - 14-15, Sarah’s friend, also just about to leave school
    Mary Murphy - 10-12
    Janet Smith - 10-12, John’s sister

At The Seaside
    Tim - 15-16, a trumpet player in a Yorkshire colliery band on tour
  *Miss Thelwell - a well-to-do lady
  *Jimps - her nurse
  *Sam - an old fisherman
  *‘Professor’ Periwinkle - the Punch And Judy man
  *Simon, the Bottler - 16-18, assistant to the ‘Professor’, audience-maker
  *Pierrot 1 - either sex
  *Pierrot 2 - either sex
    Deckchair Attendant - 45-60, a ‘jobsworth’, either sex
    Gypsy - a fortune-teller

Other Parts
   Also required is either a small band, with vocalist conductor, to play the music, or suitable pre-recorded backing tracks.
   It is the intention that the songs are sung by the band singer wearing a white tuxedo in front of a mock-up of an old fashioned typical 30’s BBC-style microphone.



  • Preview E-Script (Sunshine Mountain) A4
    £0.00 Preview E-Script (Sunshine Mountain) A4
    A free preview script containing a significant part of the full script and provided as a pdf file sized for A4 paper.
  • Printed Script (Sunshine Mountain) A4
    £5.99 Printed Script (Sunshine Mountain) A4
    A printed script provided as an A4 comb-bound acting edition. You are licensed to use this for your personal use. If you want to make multiple copies for use at rehearsals, a Script Copying Licence is required in addition...
  • Royalty Quotation Form (FL)
    Royalty Quotation Form (FL)
    The rights to perform and record for all the titles in our catalogue are managed by Stagescripts Ltd. You should not assume that a licence to perform will always be granted. Please request a quotation at the earliest...