Italian Straw Hat

An Italian Straw Hat by Eugene Labiche and Marc Michel

This play was produced by Miss Phyl Bennett in June 1966. It had a large cast of 24. Supper at this stage cost 10 cents - it was our first play produced in decimal currency. The play was presented (for two performances only) on Friday 3 June and Saturday 4 June 1966 at the "new" Wyong Memorial Hall.

The simple plot takes place on a couple’s wedding day, when the groom’s horse eats a lady’s straw hat which sets off a chain reaction of events, making it appear as if there is much ado about nothing. The lady whose hat was eaten cannot return home to her husband without it for fear it would reveal her clandestine meeting with her officer-lover. The Lieutenant, desperate to find a hat exactly like it as a replacement, goes to extreme lengths, thereby causing further turmoil.

The wedding party falls into a chase across Paris as the hapless groom attempts to find the hat and get on with his wedding, which the bride’s father calls off time and time again, much to the delight of bride’s besotted cousin who thinks he should take her hand. Mistaken identities abound, deceptions are uncovered, the plot thickens... or rather it runs about all over the place. But with farce, plot’s not meant to be scrutinised; it’s just the vehicle for the jokes and the comic delivery. The show also contains a number of songs interwoven with the action.

Italian Straw Hat Programme (pdf file, 272,718 bytes)

Photo Gallery

This play, with such a huge cast, was prolifically photographed: we probably have more photos for it than for any other play until the late 1980s! In the interests of completeness, all available unique photographs are reproduced here on the website.

The below pictures are thumbnails. To see the full-sized pictures, simply click on the thumbnail images. Any help with the captioning would be greatly appreciated.

	Review by Neville Goldsworthy in the Wyong Advocate, Wednesday 14 June 1966. (Note that these articles can be expanded in the browser window they open in by clicking on the picture and scrolling around)
	Publicity article in the Wyong Advocate, Wednesday 4 May 1966.
	A colour slide taken backstage in costume of Ian Tasker, Bonnie Bryant and Aubrey Brown
	Director, Phyl Bennet (centre, back to camera) gives a few final tips at Final Dress Rehearsal
	Bonnie Bryant, George Geatches, Beverley Say, Beth Gingell, ?, Ian Tasker and Fred Chapman

	?, Beverley Say, Fred Chapman, George Geatches, Ian Tasker and Bruno Marsonet
	?, Beth Gingell, ?, Arthur Gleed, ?, Beverley Say and Fred Chapman
	Bonnie Bryant in "reverse-drag" as Monsieur Beaujolais


	Aub Brown, George Geatches and ?
	Bonnie Bryant and George Geatches
	?, ?, Fred Chapman, Ian Tasker and Beverley Say
	Aubrey Brown, ? and George Geatches


	George Geatches, Fred Chapman, Beverley Say, Ian Tasker, Beth Gingell (partly obscured), ?, ? and ?



	Bonnie Bryant and George Geatches
	Bonnie Bryant and Cathy Hurst

	Ian Tasker and Pam Say