Everyone Gallery

Here is a gallery of images from the play Everyone by Frederick Franck. It was performed by students from The King’s Grammar School, Ottery St Mary in July 1982, and again at Exeter Cathedral in November 1982.

The photos were taken by Giles from the audience during the third and final evening performance in the school hall. They were snapped using a particularly awful camera that had been sneakily borrowed, despite such borrowing being expressly forbidden by the parent who owned the shoddy camera. It had a weird cubic flashbulb, that was attached to the top of the device, which rotated 90 degrees every time the film was wound on. It only held four single-shot flashes, then had to be thrown away as recycling didn’t exist in 1982. Good old 1960s technology.

Two of the photos are from the scene where Treasure (Lisa Williams) and Everyone (Andy Roper) entertain the crowd with their dialogue. Treasure enters to the song Money by Pink Floyd and flirts with Everyone, but when Everyone cannot find the answers he seeks, she flounces away, leaving him alone on the stage. Disillusioned, Everyone burns fake banknotes to the sound of Budgie’s Breadfan (starting from the quieter wistful refrain in the middle of the song), then the dancers (Amanda Drew, Caireen Toms and Adrienne Law) appear and take command of the stage as the volume and intensity of the song increase. It was a fabulous and memorable scene!

The other two photos are from the finale of the show, where the cast take to the stage while David Bowie’s Five Years plays. Most of the cast are visible, at least, some part of them such as a limb or two! Somebody in a white t-shirt is looking up and applauding Simon and Mark with their guitars on the gantry to the right of the stage, which is sadly not in shot. It was epic!

Photographer: Giles Staddon
Poster and press cutting: Jon Kneebone
Programme and ticket: Miranda Blayney