Who are the Off-the-Wall Theatre Company?

Each of the plays features the same set of main characters - so you can follow their exploits throughout the series.  To let you know a little about each of them, here are some short character sketches:

Jack - the chairman

Jack is a mixture of the ultra conservative and the strangely ambitious, an enthusiastic amateur with illusions of fame and grandeur, eager to take every opportunity to further his and the society's ends.

Anne - Jack's wife

Anne always seems to be the forgotten person, frustrated by her husband's efforts to get publicity for the group, by what she sees as increasingly unethical means.  Always the bridesmaid and never the bride, she at last finds her niche in amateur theatre in Big Idea, where she finds a rare talent for sound effects, and for over-dubbing pornographic films!   Rather jealous of the free-spirited, outgoing performing members, in particular of the younger, attractive ones, she really cuts loose in Murdering the Mikado and attemps to seduce the author of Lady Chatterley's Lover!

Richard - the self-styled Don Juan of the group

Mid thirties, single, an alleged womaniser, with a reputation (fully justified) as colourful as Don Giovanni, but rather less violent.  Promiscuous to a fault, he's the one who tried to join the Mile High Club on the top deck of a number 10 bus, and is very proud of having had sex on the London Eye - and the photographs to prove it!.

Barney - a local policeman

A pillar of the local community (at least in theory), Barney is somewhat larger than life, ever ready with a jolly jape for every occasion.  Married to Megan (whom we never seem to meet), but seriously attracted to the lovely Sharon.  Finds he has a talent for publicity, intrigue and balancing on the edge of the law he never suspected he had.

Aggie - the life and soul of the party

Nothing is too hot or too heavy for Aggie, the outrageous life and soul of the party.   She's actually based on a man - an alcoholic doctor I used to know, who cast discretion to the winds at every opportunity.  Outrageous, outspoken, much-married, and quite clear about what she wants.  Has no scruples - at least, none that anyone has found yet. 

Sharon - the ditsy blonde

Soprano with the group, with the voice but not the talent, with the body, but perhaps not the brain.

Christine - Richard's partner

One of Richard's more adventurous conquests.  Likes gantries, fly systems, broom cupboards and just about any form of live performance. She really comes into her own (in Mudering the Mikado) when she leads an audience of prisoners in an audience participation song about her favourite forms of fetishism!

Doris - the group's pianist

Agatha's compatriot, yet her opposite, a fading lady, much like the Cheshire Cat's grin.  She's perfect for 1930 Agatha Christie whodunits, especially as she seems to have developed an uncanny talent for crime detection! 

Robert - the new member

For some unknown reason has changed his hobby from rugby to amdram.  A newcomer to the group, he tends to display considerable hidden talent - talent that he'd like to keep hidden.

Jonathan - the group's producer

The frustrated producer, as they all are, who would much rather deal with a professional cast, who would at least show up for rehearsals!  He has much in common with Jack Richards, as they both see themselves miscast in their respective roles.  Jonathan sees himself as an undiscovered genius - everyone else sees him as a talentless incompetant.