Fireman Sam to the Rescue (1990 stage show)

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Fireman Sam to the Rescue was a children’s comedy live on stage show that played from Tuesday 13th, up to Saturday 17th March 1990 at the Theatre Royal Nottingham. It was also performed at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre. The show was by the Dudley Russell for Layston Productions Ltd

In the show, there’s spectacular heroics, loads of songs and lots of laughs for children, mums and dads. The show is connected to some of the classic Fireman Sam stories, such as Fireman Sam and the Chemistry Set, Fireman Sam and the Flat Tyre and Fireman Sam Goes Camping. Plus the show will end with a Spectacular Fireworks party.

The show run for 90 minutes plus with the interval.

Cast[]

Fireman Sam - Alexander Sinclair/David Broughton-Davies

Station Officer Steele - Ian Craddock/Roger Bingham

Elvis Cridlington - Max Hudd

Trevor Evans - Steve Ashton/Ruddy L. Davis

Bella Lasagna - Charlotte Strevens/ Katherine Hume

Dilys Price - Fiona Evans/Rosie Target

Norman Price - Karen Briffett/Joanne Skuse

Sarah - Joanne Skuse/Victoria Edwards

James - Caroline Skuse/Vicky Warden

Act 1[]

Trevor’s Training.
Norman’s Chemistry Set
Trevor’s Flat Tyre

Interval

Act 2[]

Sarah and James Go Camping and Get a Surprise
Happy Birthday Pontypandy

Songs[]

Crew[]

Characters created by Rob Lee, Dave Gingell and Dave Jones. Assisted by Mike Young.

Music and lyrics by Ben Heneghan, Ian Lawson and Robin Lyons.

Set and costumes designed by Carol Foot.

Technical consultant and lighting designed by Lawrence T. Doyle.

Adapted, written and directed for the stage by Charles Savage.

(From the original TV series produced by Bumper Films for S4C, Channel Four Wales.)

Musical Directors - Clive Fishlock/Dave Barker/Paul Smith/Alan Ellis.

Production Manager - Steve Diamond.

Stage Manager - Brian Martin.

Company Manager - Michael Mansfield.

Deputy stage manager - Jayne Ross.

Assistant stage managers - Joanne Skuse, Caroline Skuse, Simon Blackett and Max

Technical Manager - Jeff Summerton

Jupiter Prop[]

Jupiter ‘s chassis was supplied by John Bradshaw Ltd.

Jupiter’s body was build by Ray Card at Mitsubishi Motors Cirencester.

Trivia[]

This was the first time the tv show was turned into a live stage show.

In 1991, the show was toured in Australia, with a tv commercial for it. This was the only video that we have on the first stage show that was preformed outside the UK.

The layout of the show was simple, having the fire station, Sam's House, Dilys Price’s shop and Bella’s café all on a turntable, with doors, ladders and windows connected to each other.

The show featured a tent set with smoke to show the tent was on fire.

The first part of act 2 is close to the classic episode Camping.

The show also referents the episode, Treasure Hunt.

This was the start for the Jupiter prop that will soon be used in Fireman Sam Ready for Action! , Fireman Sam Saves The Day and Fireman Sam In Action.

The Jupiter Prop used for the show, was based on a Golf Buggy and it would go 25 miles per hour.

Jupiter's ladder would rase so the cast could do a slip and pitch.

When the Jupiter prop was made, the hose was blue, but when Fireman Sam in action came out, the hose was changed to a light brown colour.

This was the only stage show to have Sam's house a one of the locations from the TV series.

This would be the first time that the Fireman Sam Theme and other songs from the show would be sung for a theatre show. It would also be the first time that new Fireman Sam songs would be made for the show. like By Jupiter.

The fire fighters uniforms that were used in the show were supplied with thanks to the Hampshire Fire Service.

During the shows run time. The crew had the heat padding taken out of the fireman jacket, along with changing the plastic yellow trousers to cotton trousers, but with the same yellow colour. also swapping the wellington boot with shoe boots. Since it would have been impossible to dance and act in the uniform, without feeling so hot in them.

The Helmets mostly stay the same. just with the Pontypandy Fire service badge stuck on to it.

During the National touring of the show, Joanne Skuse would switch her role from Sarah to Norman Price in later shows.

Sometime during the shows running, Roger Bingham got to play the role of Station Officer Steele.

All 3 scenes in act 1 are connected to 3 original episodes. Chemistry Set, Flat Tyre and Trevor's Training.

Fireman Sam To The Rescue was the first children's theatre show to be performed in Belfast in 1991.

During the shows running, Victoria Edwards played Sarah in Fireman Sam to the rescue, this would be Victoria’s first time playing a character in a Fireman Sam stage show, before she got her role to play Penny Morris from Fireman Sam Ready for action to Fireman Sam in action.

The show played at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre from 7th to the 10th of March.

The show was marked as matinees only, which means the show was ever a musical, dramatic performance, a social or a public event that was held in the daytime, and especially in the afternoon.

After the show stopped running, David Broughton-Davies kept a little model of Jupiter and the heat roller he used on the Sam wig for the show.

Ruddy L. Davis, who played Trevor and Katherine Hume, who played Bella would go on to play them again in the 1992 stage play, Fireman Sam Ready for Action.

The show was made from the producers of the Postman Pat stage productions.

Charles Savage would go on to direct the Australia touring of the show.

Karen Briffett, Who Played Norman Price. Would go on to play Noddy in David Woods stage Adaptation of Noddy. along with Roger Bingham, who would play Mr Plod for the show too.

During the shows preformation's in Brighton. Ruddy L. Davis who play Trevor Evans got the time wrong for the show, while he was watching the cricket. all the cast had to improvise by ever doing 20 laps in Jupiter or slide down the pole, until he realised the time and jump aboard Jupiter.

Before David Broughton-Davies could play Fireman Sam in the show, he did a weeks training with the great Manchester Fire Brigade. He did this so that he would be able to do the movements, the way he held the hose pipes, doing the slip and pitch aka putting up a ladder to rescue people from windows, just like how a real Fire fighter would do it.

During his training, the Fire fighter decide to play a joke on David Broughton-Davies. By having the hose on a high building pressure, instead of a normal pressure and the hose start to lift David off the ground as he got wet.

The cast always sung all the songs live, with a live band.

Sometimes when the show was on tour. The show sometime do publicity stuff. Such as an actor who played Sam would go to the local fire station and slide down the pole, sit inside the fire engine or take a picture with the fire brigade that was at the particular fire station.