A new one-act comedy, Godfrey’s Last Stand by Alan Stockdill, is premièring at the Buxton Fringe in a bid to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Alan Stockdill is an actor and theatre director. His first one-act play, No Hell, was performed at the Halifax Victoria Theatre in early 2013. His next two plays, Deathwatch and The Last Memory, premièred at the Halifax Festival in summer 2013 and went on to win acting and directing awards at the Glossop Partington Theatre one-act play festival.
Talking Stock Productions is his latest artistic venture. It pledges to provide “cutting-edge theatre with a loving heart and a loud voice”.
The company was formed only a year ago and has raised almost £3,000 for charity, including the Alzheimer’s Society and NSPCC/Childline. The aim is to boost this by several thousand pounds by the end of the year.
Godfrey’s Last Stand is about Godfrey Shackleton, a cricket umpire in the Yorkshire Dales league for half a century. His big dream is to officiate at an England-Australia match. His chance comes thanks to a £3.2m lottery win but his daughter Donna is not bowled over by events.
Keith Royston plays Godfrey while Stockdill himself is Freddy and Sharon Kelly plays Donna. Catherine Pasek and Stockdill direct.
Godfrey’s Last Stand will be performed in the Pauper’s Pit beneath the Old Hall Hotel on Friday 11 July at 6PM and Saturday 12 July at 1PM.