Little Arthur’s History of England
is the name of a popular history from the Victorian Era written by Lady Maria Callcott. Touchingly, it became a favourite of the young men in the trenches of the Great War.
The Play
Little Arthur gazes from his nursery window trying to make sense of the mad world of the grown ups beyond
“Little Arthur’s History of England” starring Trisaha Lewis is a one woman play about the life of a Nanny and her charge in the nursery of a big house during the days and nights of September 1939. Nanny Cummins is more than a little eccentric and is definitely larger than life. During the course of the play we learn of Nanny’s life, disappointments and attitudes to the looming conflict as she reads from the big history book that she keeps on the nursery shelf. From time to time she fortifies herself with a swig from her special medicine bottle that she keeps hidden under her pillow. In the end Nanny knows she cannot keep the truth from her little Arthur and in a dramatic climax we come to understand the secret that Nanny herself has kept hidden all these years...
When it was first performed in Oxford, The Oxford Mail said it was an “An astonishing piece infused with warmth and melancholy”
Trisha Lewis
Trisha is a Bournemouth based actress with an enormous range of professional work to her credit. Trisha is extremely well known for her work in Dorset and the South and over the years has specialised in single-handed portrayals of strong and quirky women such as Joyce Grenfell , Mary Woolstonecraft and Virgina Woolfe.
Reviews of Trisha’s work:
"..Inspirational solo performance..”
“…confident and beautiful acting…”
( Hampshire Chronicle)
“….utterly unforgettable”
(Chester Chronicle)
Spyway Projects(http://www.spyway.co.uk/) is a Dorset based theatre company bringing together writer and director Peter John Cooper, designer Annette Sumption and many other professional musicians, designers and performers. Over the past seventeen years they have produced shows as varied as the world premiere of Bafta winning writer Guy Hibbert’s ‘Tilting Ground’, through Alan Ayckbourne’s ‘Intimate Exchanges’, Neil Simon’s ‘Same Time Next Year’ and the UK Tour of ‘Captain Pugwash and the Monster of Green Island’.
Spyway produces Surprising theatre – emotionally engaging yet thoughtful and thought provoking. The creative impetus coming from writers, new, established and emerging.
Nanny:
Nanny had a peculiar place in the life of the big house. She lived on the Family Side of the Green Baize Door so was set apart from the rest of the staff and could almost be regarded as a member of the family. Nanny could command the butler, cook and housekeeper and accompanied the family on any trip or outing that the children were on. She could even order the car and chauffeur for trips out herself. But this strange place in the hierarchy often meant that Nanny felt isolated and alone. It was not unusual for her to develop strange manners and customs. As she grew older, her foibles and eccentricities would be accepted and tolerated.
Some parts of the character of Nanny Cummins are based on Peter John Cooper’s own mother who was Nanny in several big houses before the Second World War.
is the name of a popular history from the Victorian Era written by Lady Maria Callcott. Touchingly, it became a favourite of the young men in the trenches of the Great War.
The Play
Little Arthur gazes from his nursery window trying to make sense of the mad world of the grown ups beyond
“Little Arthur’s History of England” starring Trisaha Lewis is a one woman play about the life of a Nanny and her charge in the nursery of a big house during the days and nights of September 1939. Nanny Cummins is more than a little eccentric and is definitely larger than life. During the course of the play we learn of Nanny’s life, disappointments and attitudes to the looming conflict as she reads from the big history book that she keeps on the nursery shelf. From time to time she fortifies herself with a swig from her special medicine bottle that she keeps hidden under her pillow. In the end Nanny knows she cannot keep the truth from her little Arthur and in a dramatic climax we come to understand the secret that Nanny herself has kept hidden all these years...
When it was first performed in Oxford, The Oxford Mail said it was an “An astonishing piece infused with warmth and melancholy”
Trisha Lewis
Trisha is a Bournemouth based actress with an enormous range of professional work to her credit. Trisha is extremely well known for her work in Dorset and the South and over the years has specialised in single-handed portrayals of strong and quirky women such as Joyce Grenfell , Mary Woolstonecraft and Virgina Woolfe.
Reviews of Trisha’s work:
"..Inspirational solo performance..”
“…confident and beautiful acting…”
( Hampshire Chronicle)
“….utterly unforgettable”
(Chester Chronicle)
Spyway Projects(http://www.spyway.co.uk/) is a Dorset based theatre company bringing together writer and director Peter John Cooper, designer Annette Sumption and many other professional musicians, designers and performers. Over the past seventeen years they have produced shows as varied as the world premiere of Bafta winning writer Guy Hibbert’s ‘Tilting Ground’, through Alan Ayckbourne’s ‘Intimate Exchanges’, Neil Simon’s ‘Same Time Next Year’ and the UK Tour of ‘Captain Pugwash and the Monster of Green Island’.
Spyway produces Surprising theatre – emotionally engaging yet thoughtful and thought provoking. The creative impetus coming from writers, new, established and emerging.
Nanny:
Nanny had a peculiar place in the life of the big house. She lived on the Family Side of the Green Baize Door so was set apart from the rest of the staff and could almost be regarded as a member of the family. Nanny could command the butler, cook and housekeeper and accompanied the family on any trip or outing that the children were on. She could even order the car and chauffeur for trips out herself. But this strange place in the hierarchy often meant that Nanny felt isolated and alone. It was not unusual for her to develop strange manners and customs. As she grew older, her foibles and eccentricities would be accepted and tolerated.
Some parts of the character of Nanny Cummins are based on Peter John Cooper’s own mother who was Nanny in several big houses before the Second World War.
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