Oct/Nov 2006

Humble Boy
by Charlotte Jones
 

Directed by
Rita Vango

"Will live long in the memory"
Dunmow Observer

"A play that can enthral with comic delight"
Braintree & Witham Times

Humble Boy is a comedy about broken vows, failed hopes and the joys of bee-keeping.

All is not well in the Humble hive. Thirty-five-year-old Felix Humble is a Cambridge astro-physicist in search of a unified field theory. Following the sudden death of his father, Felix returns to his middle England home and his difficult and demanding mother, where he soon realises that his search for unity must include his own chaotic home life.

Following the funeral of James Humble, Felix
(Steve Braham), his mother Flora (Jan Ford) and
her friend Mercy Lott (Marcia Baldry) retire to
the garden.

Jim, the gardener, (Steve Bradley) talks to Felix about the flowers his mother likes and the absence of the bees.

Later, on a beautiful summer's day, George Pye
(Rod Foster) comes to visit Flora.

Felix does not conceal his dislike for George  and nastily argues with him, much to the annoyance of Flora.

Flora gives Felix a gift of an Egyptian honey pot
that James had bought for her.  Felix opens it.

Felix is horrified to find that it contains the ashes of his father.

Rosie Pye (Carol Parradine), an old girlfriend dumped
by Felix, comes to
see him.  When she
finds out that she
does not love him anymore, she sets
about seducing him.

The following month, Flora hosts a garden party.  After much argument, sniping and general misunderstanding, Mercy says grace.  She has a lot to say!

Mercy realizes that the gazpacho she has so
carefully prepared has been seasoned with some
of the contents of the honey pot.

She collects it up and runs off.

The Eureka moment.  Jim finally reveals himself to Flora as the ghost of James her husband. They relive the moments of their first meeting and their love for the garden.