The play is a series of connected sketches following the life of Michael Peters from the age of 2 to 23. It is a nostalgic look back at the period from the end of the second World War to the 1960's, but it is much more than that. Evey scene is brilliantly written, the majority being hilarious and the rest genuinely touching.

The play has a large cast of 13, and through a series of mostly comic sketches tells the story of a boy growing up between 1945 and 1968.

The Cast.

Officer – Ian Miller

George – Gordon Cummings

Enid – Jennifer Scott-Reid

Michael – Charles Harris

Chicken – Ian Miller

Collins – Ian Miller

Vadia – Chris Fryer

June – Kerri Millership

Miss Jones – Sue Clatworthy

Owen – James Benson

Roger – Chris Fryer

William – Kerri Millership

Lady – Judy Curry

Mademoiselle – Siobhan Brunwin

The Head – Jim Ford

Director – Ken Kemp

Clavering Players took this production to the April 2008 Cambridge Drama Festival. The festival took place within The Mumford Theatre with Jill Colby as adjudicator.

Here are the awards Clavering Players were nominated for and won.

Sound – Nominated

Costume – Nominated

Lighting – Nominated

Stage Presentation – Nominated

Best Cameo Role – Winner (Judy Curry)

Best Actor Ages 18 or under – Winner (Charles Harris)

Best Actress – Nominated (Jennifer Scott-Reid)

Best Actor - Nominated (Gordon Cummings)

A review by Alex James

(The Herts and Essex Observer)

'Golden Wonder'

Nostalgia, memory and the experience of growing up provide a rich seam for drama writers to mine - but it takes something special to translate them to full effect for an audience.  Especially when all you've got to work with is a handful of amateur players, two wooden chairs, one or two other basic props and a single, metaphorical painted backdrop, as in The Golden Pathway Annual.

But the Clavering Players are skilled theatrical alchemists and they managed to turn this paltry list of ingredients into a stunning feast for the senses which will stay with me for a long time.

The mixed metaphor is rather appropriate considering some of the unsettlingly surreal  scenes that ensued in the on-stage representation of the subconscious of a young boy born shortly after the end of the Second World War.  Lighting and faultless performances – all the more noteworthy considering the dialogue-heavy nature of the script combined to make watching this production a heady experience.

The play, a series of connected sketches, deals with the path to adulthood taken by only child Michael, who we follow from infancy to his early 20s guided by the titular annual, to which his parents, George and Enid - anxious for their son to avoid their humdrum, impoverished existence - subscribe in 1951..

Charles Harris was the star of the show in every sense portraying Michael at various stages during his youth and displaying a sublime sense of comic timing which went a long way to helping the production capture the perfect balance of wistfulness and humour.

It is possible to perform The Golden Pathway Annual with far fewer than the 11 actors utilised by the Players, but several still had the chance to display their versatility, most notably Ian Miller, who opened the play as an Army officer, appeared a few scenes later as a hilariously panic-stricken chicken, then immediately afterwards as the annual salesman.