Herald Express from Torquay, Devon, England • 31

HERALD EXfUESS THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 20 1990 31 Taboo subject bom on stage xco5 --v TCBtyy CMSMA ttitC'jFi'ji a wvra By oartvojhh S1XAV 2MVxt Kendall's 'Unseeded" from the huge pile of unsolicited scripts sent to him on spec through the post by hopeful writers The play was put to the test for the last night and the audience loved it The story takes you through a full range of emotions from laughter to worry as two couples confront the moral dilemmas surrounding surrogacy The four performers have been drawn from popular television shows David Griffin is best known as squadron leader Clive Dempster in Hi-Di-Hi Elizabeth Councell as Veronica in Brush Strokes Dan Gordon as Tom in Foreign Bodies and Charon Bourke as George Baker's daugter Sylvia in the Ruth Rendell Series All four enjoyed their roles during the play's faultless debut 'Unseeded' was an interesting way to bring a slightly taboo subject out into the open It was an interesting play with a promising future It runs at the Theatre Royal until September 29 BP THE THEATRE Royal in Plymouth gave birm to a new off-beat play last night which could be destined for a great future But theatre bosses should not expect 'UnseedecT to follow in the footsteps of other hit shows which premiered in Plymouth before heading on for the bright lights of Broadway 'Unseeded by Roy Kendall has some tough acts to follow both yBuddy' and Shadowlands which premiered at the Theatre Royal were due to open on Broadway in the Autumn 'Unseeded' is a unusual drama about the controversial subject of surrogacy It is gritty ana witty but lacks the razzmataz which theatregoers in the States revel in The theatre's artistic director Roger Redfam said Buddy and Shadowlands had originally been as big a risk as 'Unseeded' when they premiered in Plymouth "New work is the only way the theatre can progress" said Roger "We cannot keep do-ing the tried and tested" Roger had picked out Roy One of the gems of Paignton and Western Europe's oldest surviving purpose built cinema Classical cinema style Torbay survives history whose players were paid eight guineas a week There were two jrand pianos one of which was bought from Paris Singer at grar THE with new itself The Torbay Cinema can claim the title of the oldest surviving purpose-built cinema in Western Europe In fact it was built in 1907 before Hollywood and it was licensed only as a bioscope exhibition hall John Mann who manages the cinema for its owners the Paignton to Dartmouth Steam Railway said they had records of correspondence between the police and Paignton Picture House company about how to go about getting a cinema licence which didn't exist before then When the cinema opened it employed a 21 piece orchestra Fall for Hoopers The Autumn collection Boutique second floor Betty Barclay Benetton L'Ultima Mexx Outlander Dash Cartoon Tai Fun In Wear Oui Set A Dash of Colour' day Saturday September 22 A special event by Dash featuring especially the new ranges for men and children There are badges and balloons for children and a lovely complimentary bouquet of flowers with Dash purchases over £50 Lingerie second floor La Perla Lejaby Janet Reger Jane Woolrich Rosy The definition of st The Strand Torquay (0803) 212754 Old There are records of the company buying fur muffs for the usherettes for when they went around the top hotels in the bay with publicity leaflets There was also a written complaint from the orchestra leader threatening that if the projectionists didn't slow down the Tom Mix films the violinist would quit presumably because he couldn't keep up The first records are of films shown in about 1913 before that Mr Mann says it would probably have been a mix of magic lantern and movies The "royal boxes" are still there at the back of the circle though nowadays the usherettes no longer pop across to the cafe on the other side of the road to colled tea and crumpets for the film goers Art Deco lights Fate has been kind to the cinema which retains its original hall The only piece that has gone is the stage proscenium which was removed to make room for the modern day screen The striking Art Deco lights probably date from the 1920s and Mr Mann said they believe that originally chandeliers hung from the ceiling Many of the original features have survived such as the striking wood doors with circular glass which matched those at the much missed Dellers Cafe down the road though the delicate tracery of the canopy outside has been covered up by a more modem affair Mr Mann said: "Dellers and the Cinema shared many features like the mullion windows as they were built by the same firm" The cinema hall is barrel construction rather like a church and features some fine plaster work with flowers and fruit and some classical heads at the foot of the pillars The circle is built more in the style of a classical theatre than a cinema And just to add to the atmosphere during the detectives" season last year they put back a Sighs of nostalgia When they were showing some of the 1 940s black and white films there were more than one or two heavy sighs of nostalgia from some of the audience One of its most famous visitors was Agatha Christie When Dame Agatha used to visit her local cinema she was known only as the lady from the big house at Kingswear who wrote books Amongst the records at the Torbay Cinema was a booking for two seats in the circle for Mrs Westmacott the pen name Dame Agatha used for her romantic novels She renamed the cinema the Gaiety in one of her books and the cinema itself made an appearance in the film of the Christie novel "Ordeal by The magnificent circular wooden doors which Torbay Cinema shared with the much missed Deller's cafe.