This hilarious comedy was set in the masters' common room of Hilary Hall School for Boys in the summer term just after the Second World War had ended. The masters find out that St Swithin's, a girls' school, is to be billeted upon them after a clerical error at the Ministry of Devacuation. The staff try desperately to conceal the fact that the boys and girls are housed together, but in vain, for some of the parents find out. They are about to remove their offspring when a message arrives: a third school is to share Hilary Hall. Against this common enemy, both staff and parents unite to barricade the gates. Some people might have remembered this as a hilarious 1950's film starring Joyce Grenfield as the love struck gym teacher, Alistair Sym and Margaret Rutherford as the Heads of the respective establishments. The play itself has a verydifferent plot from the film, but our audience seemed to enjoy it greatly and some older spectators told us how much it reminded them of thir own schooldays. There was a very large cast and the two younger new recruits Katie Finch and James Linehan gave the play their all.
A special mention must be made to Jenny Dennis who played Evelyn Whitchurch. Her stirling performance gave her a well deserved Best Actress nomination in the Rose Bowl Awards. The ajudicator made the following comments regarding Jenny's performance. 'This performance will stay with me for a long time, achingly funny, this detailed characterisation was a joy to watch. The figure of authority on her first entrance with the WRAC marching walk and body language of disapproval gradually deteriorated into a distraught figure in the final scenes. The scene carrying the rose whilst trying to impress the Picks and control her emotions and panic was brilliant. 'Vocally excellent'.
