DOI: 10.20375/0000-0011-4954-d
title: Lashings of Ginger Beer

description: Abstract:
The play is a humorous and nostalgic exploration of the popular children’s books from the mid-twentieth century, The Famous Five by Enid Blyton. The play is set in the 1950s and follows four characters attempting to solve a mystery on a camping trip. The characters, inspired by the Famous Five, include Julian, Dick, George, and Anne, played by actors with learning disabilities. Along the way, they learn important lessons about teamwork, trust, and perseverance. The play features a range of fun and lively musical numbers and plenty of physical comedy and slapstick humour. It celebrates childhood adventure’s joy and innocence while poking fun at outdated aspects of the Famous Five stories.

Details:
The village of Much Kindling is introduced through a video montage of the important places, landmarks, and groups of people who inhabit it. This is set to the voice-over by Alan Titchmarsh and establishes the village, its geography, demographics, and socio-cultural landscape. The montage is followed by a dance number by the village residents in the marketplace in front of the bar called ‘The Old Bore.’ Everyone participates in the dance number, from the vicar to the chef. At the front and centre are characters dressed in prison clothes. As soon as the dance number ends, a town resident steps forward and reads from the newspaper that “prisoners have escaped and police are looking for them.” Upon hearing this, all the prisoners flee the stage. The villagers talk among themselves and say out loud that they must be extra careful now that the prisoners have escaped. 
The Reverend introduces himself, tries to calm everyone down by telling them they need not worry, and mentions that his people need him for spiritual guidance. 
Lady Rich is introduced next. She mentions that she is a devout churchgoer and has lived in a ‘big house’ for generations, and the people in the village are her people, and they need her. Next, Mr. Steel is introduced; he proclaims that he has lived in the village forever, the people there are his people and describes all that he makes. The Barman introduces himself next, saying that he has poured drinks for everyone on various occasions and that all the people in the village are his people. The baker, Mrs. Burns, is introduced next and says that she feeds all the people, and ‘daily bread’ is not just a saying for her but a way of life. The butcher, farmer, and local journalist are introduced next. Soon after, the constables step forward and introduce themselves, as does a person who is enterprising, street smart, and jack-of-all-trades. The station managers introduce themselves next, and a train arrives with Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who are tourists and will be staying at a local bed & breakfast. 
The main protagonists step out and declare they are here to meet their cousin Georgina and her dog, Timothy, and stay with their uncle Quentin and Aunt Fanny for the Christmas holidays. They are received by Aunt Fanny, Timmy, and Georgina, who asserts that she would like to be called George. The escaped convicts reach the town and disguise themselves. The cousins, led by Julian, feel something is not quite right. 
The scene shifts to the church. The priest tries to lead the choir, but people wonder how they can go about with their daily life when there are crooks at large and strangers in the village. The priest encourages everyone to think of them as visitors instead of strangers. 
It becomes an interactive play at this point, and the audience joins in the rendition of ‘Give me oil in my lamp.’ The disguised convicts join but leave as soon as the hymn finishes. Other villages, unaware that they were convicts, hope the new people can join the signing in the future too.
The scene shifts, and escaped convicts discuss that it is an excellent village to stay in and lay low for a while, as the village is well connected and has many historical artefacts that can be looted and sold off. The convicts’ leader mentions that they can spend the next few days plotting this, but they need to blend in better not to arouse any suspicion. 
The play takes a jibe at sexism, banking, and capitalism through the conversations between Julian, Anne, George, and Richard. 
Lady Rich and the journalist overhear a conversation between Mr. and Mrs. Smith as he accuses her of making notes and stealing. She retorts that she is not stealing but borrowing. They all disperse. 
The scene shifts, and the escaped convicts discuss what to steal and settle on the ‘round table’ in the Great Wall. A video exposition on why the roundtable is valuable is played, explaining its historical significance. 
The scene shifts, and villagers go about their day with small talk about the weather. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Smith enter; Mr. Smith mentions that if only the villagers knew there was a spy amongst them, he implies that Mrs. Smith is an alias. Mrs. Smith retorts that she is just a visitor in a village. 
Scene shifts. The police are shown to be oblivious to things happening around them as they keep saying nothing gets past them while people make all sorts of plans in the background. 
The five go camping. Aunt Fanny advises them to look after each other and not trust people blindly. The five describe the fun they had on picnics, campfires, and hikes, followed by professing their love for ginger beer. 
Scene shifts at the church, singing hymns and folk songs denote the passing of time - Christmas. The five become curious after seeing Aunt Fanny look out the window through her binoculars. Aunt Fanny mentions that she is looking at Osprey, but the children deduce that Osprey has not been sighted in Hampshire for a while. They believe she was focused on the B0ed and Breakfast and wonder whom she was watching. 

Scene shifts, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith enter. Mr. Smith questions Mrs. Smith if she feels like they are being watched. Mrs. Smith responds that it is a small village, and everyone watches each other. She adds that there cannot be any secrets in small places like this, and Mr. Smith mentions that no one cares and everyone can have their own private lives in London. Mrs. Smith mentions that the children are everywhere and always on an adventure. Mr. Smith asks her if she has been spying on the children, to which she replies that children have much potential, whereas adults are set in stone. 
The scene shifts, and the five narrate that they got to know the villagers during their stay. The five interact with Lady Rich and the Reverend. They mention that on one of their camping trips outside the village, they saw blinking lights in the village. 
The scene shifts again. The escaped convicts gather and mention that the police would have no idea that they (the convicts) would bury the loot so near the police station. As they try to dig up the earth, they are interrupted by the police, who demand to know what they are doing. The escaped convicts mention that they are foraging. When asked what they are foraging for at night, the convicts reply that they are foraging for truffles. The police seemed satisfied with their response and added that “they (convicts) have come to the right place for truffles.” The police also mention a criminal band on the loose, so the group should finish their task quickly and return home safely. They also offer a shovel, which they feel will make the digging faster than the crowbar. The police head out after mentioning that the group members should keep their eyes open and approach the police if they see anything suspicious. The convicts dig up and run away with the loot. 
The five arrive and narrate that they do not trust the group members they saw. They find a leaflet describing the Great Hall, and Julian mentions that he does not think they (the convicts in disguise) would have anything but ill intentions on their minds if they (the convicts in disguise) were visiting the Great Hall. George wonders if they (the convicts in disguise) plan to steal the roundtable, and Richard asks her if it is valuable. She replies that it is priceless. The leaflet also mentions the tools and equipment the gang of escaped convicts needs to pull off the heist along with the date on which the group was planning to pull off the heist - January 1, when everyone would be distracted in welcoming the new year. The five decide to alert the local constabulary.
The scene shifts, and the criminals can be heard mentioning how they plan to steal the round table as the rest of the village welcomes in the new year, cut the table into smaller pieces for the American market, and the thieves can live happily ever after. As the thieves start to take out their tools, the five arrive and stop them. The constables arrive too and wonder who the mastermind behind the plot is. To everyone’s surprise, one of the constables is also involved in the heist. The constable chides them (the five) for not being smart enough to have guessed this, to which the five reply that it is possible that they already felt something was not quite right about the constable and had a backup plan. 
All the villagers arrive and try to stop the thieves and their activities. The corrupt constable reminds them that s/he has a revolver and a detonator for a bomb. The villagers try to convince the corrupt constable that s/he should not detonate the bomb as everyone in the village has helped and trusted them. The corrupt constable mentions that s/he does not need anyone; all s/he needed was a last big payout so that s/he can flee the country, move to Spain, and live in a grand house. Timmy reminds them that Aunt Fanny is not here, and she arrives in the nick of time, single-handedly fights off the thieves, and overpowers them. The butcher bowls a perfect ball that hits the corrupt constable in the head, and the corrupt constable is apprehended. The band of thieves (pointing at the five) mention that they would have gotten away with it if it was not for the pesky kids. It starts to snow, and Richard narrates that everyone gathered in the church for hot chocolate and refreshments.
Mrs. Smith approaches the children to congratulate them on their fine work and tells them that they did well, worked as a team, and brought out the best in each other. The children admit they were initially suspicious of her and thought of her as the criminal mastermind. Mrs. Smith confesses that she was undercover and did not want anyone to know who she was. She is a famous author. She mentions that after the success of a book she wrote on a mythical tree, she needed inspiration, and the five have been inspiring. Her husband comes seeking her and calls her by her first name - Enid. Mrs. Smith waves off and mentions that everyone should watch the Famous Five series. The Reverend urges everyone to reflect on whatever happened in the past few weeks, what people mean to each other, and whom to trust. He urges Lady Rich to lead the group in singing. To encourage the audience to join in singing, Richard quotes Henry Van Dyke, “Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Everyone sings William Blake’s “Jerusalem” together.