As some of you may know Nigel received a phone call just over a year ago from Jo Boase. Jo had been in Lyceum pantos at Grange as a member of the Pat Dyson Dancers. She went on to become a professional dancer and choreographer and then changed track to become Cruise Director on the Saga world cruise line 'Ruby'.

Jo had thought for some time that entertainment on the world cruise, although excellent,  was somewhat stereotypical and it was time for a change. She was determined to bring straight drama into the ship's repertoire and asked Nigel if the Lyceum Theatre could provide four actors and material to give this a go.

The rest, as they say, is history. Nigel readily agreed and Ean Burgon, Joan Duffin, Margaret Blaszczok and Damiem Kavanagh were signed up along with Alex Tweedie, who was to stage manage. Plays had to be found which fitted into a  30 to 45 minute schedule and needed no scenery. Not an easy task. In the end, with the help of Peter Cadman who ran a one act theatre group in Spain, the three 'Grimley Sagas' were discovered. These along with two of Alan Bennett's 'Talking Heads' all seemed to fit the bill.

Nigel, unable to make the trip due to holiday commitments, directed the pieces. After a hurried dress rehearsal at the Theatre the five set off in early February for Mumbai, India. There they were to join the ship which had left Southampton on 2 January an due to return in April. The five of them were on the ship for ten days, leaving it in Singapore.

As well as having a great time the plays were very well received. So much so that The Lyceum Theatre was voted the fourth most popular entertainers out of the 14 different groups. All the others being professional.

Those same four actors are are again in rehearsal for the 2012 cruise. Very soon after they returned Nigel received a call from Saga Central Office to book The Lyceum Theatre for the 2012 cruise. Saga had been so delighted with the passengers' response to the contribution on the 2011 cruise. If possible, Saga wanted the same four actors because of their great inteaction with passengers. Plus they saw no reason to change the content as very few, if any, of the same passengers would be on the 2012 cruise. However, one more piece would be needed as this time the actors would be on the ship for just short of three weeks.

In April the final details were sorted and it was agreed that the actors, this time with Nigel as Director / Stage Manager would fly out to Papeete in Tahiti on 10 February to join Saga 'Ruby'. they would then visit Bora Bora in the French Polynesian Islands, the New Zealand Bay of Islands, Tauranga, Auckland, Sydney and finally leave the ship in Cairns, Australia on 29 February. They would then spend four days visiting the Tropical Rain Forests and the Graet Barrier Reef before returning to Manchester via Singapore and Frankfurt on 3 March.

As mentioned earlier, the 'Grimleys' and 'Talking Heads' will be repeated and a new piece 'Cruise Missile' added. In this piece Joan and Margaret play two old dears on a cruise liner. One on her maiden voyage and the other a many times cruiser who is determined that her new found 'friend' will 'enjoy' her first cruise. We think this will be very funny and a suitable addition to the repertoire.

In addition to this Saga have provisionally booked us for two cruises in 2013 but at present we have no details of these. The photos here are some of Ean's on the 2011 cruise. We will report back on the 2012 venture when the actors return.