Cornley Drama Society

The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is a fictional amateur dramatics acting club consisting of people who met while attending various classes at the Cornley Polytechnic Institute and shared an interest in the theatre. Though variously incompetent and incompatible, their personality clashes, inexperience, bad luck and determination to press on no matter what, despite their constant desire to be too ambitious and achieve more than they are in any way capable of, means that every show they perform ends up an unmitigated disaster. Anything that can possibly go wrong increasingly does.

## Members:

### Chris Bean

Chris is the director - never merely a directer - of the Drama Society. He takes every show he is in very seriously and is angered when the audience think that a show he is performing in, such as Peter Pan, is a pantomime and not a serious production. The founder member, he also considers himself the best actor in the troop – frequently casting himself in the lead role - and longs to be above such amateur productions.

### Robert Grove

Robert frequently clashes with Chris over who should get the main part. He even wrote a book, Anything You Can Act, I Can Act Louder, in an attempt to convince the rest of the cast that he is the best actor in the company. As well as being the loudest, he is also the largest member of the cast, frequently getting stuck.

### Sandra Wilkinson

Possibly the most vain member of the cast, and certainly the most flirtatious, this fictitious character is Dame Diana Rigg's niece2. She is used to being the female lead in every play and will frequently pose during scenes to get attention. In early productions she was in a relationship with Jonathan, unaware that Max was in love with her.

### Max Bennett

Of all the cast Max appears to enjoy being on stage the most and will frequently stop what he is doing to smile and wave at the audience – even if he is playing a corpse. However, as he comes from a wealthy family that supports the Drama Society financially and has an aunt who purportedly 'runs the BBC' (which led to the society's production of Peter Pan being televised), Chris is willing to put up with these lapses while still usually casting him in minor roles. As well as enjoying being on stage, the other reason he is in the Drama Society is because he is madly in love with Sandra.

### Annie Twilloil

In many ways Annie is the Drama Society's backbone. Quiet and unassuming, though fond of elaborate hand gestures, she is willing to take on any role as and when required. Not only in the cast but also backstage, for example being the company's often-needed first aider. She is highly supportive of the others, particularly taking Dennis under her wing. She is the least likely to cause chaos and confusion, but is often the victim of the others' incompetence.

### Dennis Tyde

Unlike the other cast members, Dennis never wanted to be an actor, but joined the cast because no other club at Cornley Polytechnic would accept him. Nervous, he is completely unable to remember his lines but always remembers other people's. Thus, if in a scene he dries up and does not know what to say next, if prompted with his line he will respond with the line of the person he is conversing with. This often results in several lines being spoken by the wrong character. He also takes things very literally, which can cause problems. For example, when the Christmas episode begins its broadcast, as he is playing Rudolph, he asks Chris 'what noise does a reindeer make?' On being told, 'Now is not the time, Dennis', later on in that episode when Father Christmas climbs into the sleigh he repeats, 'Now is not the time, Dennis'. He is the most likely to be cast as an animal.

### Jonathan Harris

Another actor who is often cast as the young lead and is egotistical, particularly looking down on Max and Dennis. He was in a passionate relationship with Sandra until she caught him kissing Annie on stage in the middle of a production. Since then he has had more of a minor role. He frequently struggles with props on stage, especially finding it difficult to open doors.

### Trevor Watson

Trevor is the stage manager who joined the Drama Society because he was studying electronics and needed credit on lighting and sound. When problems arise with the set, Trevor appears and rushes bull-headed into a way of fixing the immediate problem, even if it subsequently causes more problems as a result. As performances by the production often result in actors becoming incapacitated, he has been known to stand in for the actual cast, flatly reading lines from a script.

### Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carroway

Vanessa appears to be the newest member of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, appearing in episodes of The Goes Wrong Show. Like Sandra she is often cast in lead female roles, particularly ones that involve singing, though she had been one of the stage crew during Peter Pan. Bryony Corrigan had also played a BBC receptionist during A Christmas Carol, though this appears to have been a different character.

### Fringe/Recurring Members

* Lucy Grove
* Jill (Stagehand for The Murder at Haversham Manor)
* Phil (Stagehand for The Murder at Haversham Manor)
* Francis Beaumont (Member for Peter Pan)
* Lincoln Parque (ASM for Peter Pan)
* Grace Ofcharles (ASM for Peter Pan)

## Recorded Productions

### Plays

* The Murder At Haversham Manor
* Peter Pan

### TV

* A Christmas Carol
* Peter Pan (BBC)
* Play of the Week
	+ The Spirit of Christmas
	+ The Pilot
	+ A Trial to Watch
	+ The Lodge
	+ Harper's Locket
	+ 90 Degrees

### Online Shorts

* Unnamed Production on Zoom
* See It Safely: Cornley's 'Helpful' Guide

## In Universe Mentioned Productions:

### During The Play That Goes Wrong:

* James and the Peach
* The Lion and the Wardrobe
* Cat

### During Peter Pan

* Jack and the Bean
* Rapunzel (Due to ill timed haircut Rapunzel was imprisoned in a Bungalow)
* Puss in Boots (using a real cat; alternative name among the Society of "Puss Who Was Occasionally in Boots, But Often Refused to Wear His Boots, and Pooed in Them")
* Oliver! (starring Dennis)

### During The Goes Wrong Show

* More Horse (sequel to War Horse)
* Nightwear on Elm Street
* Texas Chainsaw Massager

1. ↑ h2g2 - The Show Must Go Wrong! The Televised Exploits of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society - Edited Entry