Players putt in a fine performance

All I can say is, playwright Peter Gordon must be a keen golfer because, in my younger days, I spent ten years on the road as a disc jockey and must have played at nearly every golf club in the area, and he certainly has the dynamics of golf clubs and their members well worked out.
Golf Club and Golf BallGolf Club and Golf Ball
Golf Club and Golf Ball

It is Captain’s Day and the captain is indisposed so Simon takes over the big event.

Every club has a Simon. He is often the club secretary.

Self-important, boring, pedantic to the point of autism and Geoff Finn admirably had his character down to a T (or, in this case possibly, a tee).

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Janet Hindle played his long-suffering wife, Laura, driven into the arms of other men as she searched for a bit of
excitement.

Her choices weren’t always the best as Barry – with a Scottish accent that Ellen, beside me, pinpointed as ‘refined Glasgow’ – was hardly Russell Crowe.

But Barry (Paul Hanson) had eyes for Fran, the Ladies Captain, who was supposed to have once been a man although Janet Dawson in the role looked anything but.

In fact, it was a malicious rumour put out as a joke by the vice-captain and villain of the club, Nick, who set about infuriating Simon at every turn. (Nick Atkinson, who played Nick, is the spitting image of 60’s pop legend, PJ Proby, and should be making his fortune as a PJ tribute act. If, of course, he can sing)

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Nick was helped by his girlfriend, Tiffany (a scintillating performance by Claire Fee) and between them they managed to bring chaos to the whole event, not helped by Laura turning to the bottle and sabotaging one of the holes.

Tiffany single-handedly wrecked Nick’s prized motor bike, Simon’s car, a 100-year-old bush (she couldn’t drive the tractor after all) then gave all the guests food poisoning from the picnic table she set up on the prized practice green, so putting an end to the Captain’s Dinner.

So much happening, the audience barely had time to stop laughing. Another triumph for The Broughton Players and their talented cast, well marshalled by director Michael Hurley.

Ron Ellis