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Royal Holloway College Savoy Opera Society

Needle's Eye (1976)

Needle's Eye was not a Savoy Opera. It was specially written by students to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the founding of SOS.

According to the original programme, "the action concerns a retired Brigadier, who has taken to hoarding the insurance money he received after the sudden death of his wife. He is grieved and disillusioned but keeps a stiff upper lip and tries to show he is unshaken. He does this by asserting the military discipline of his Army days on his household. However, there is some opposition..."

The book was by N.J. Ross and P.R. Newton, suggested by a play by Molière. The lyrics were by P.R. Newton and the music by W.C. Martin.

The cast was:

Nell	Sarah Bishop
Beatrice	Rachel Pask
Kitty	Pat Quiruga
Jack	Steve Bowring
C.W.	Julian Breeze
Adam	Peter Hawkins
The Brigadier	Don Gallagher
Alex	Chris Bayton
Elizabeth	Jane Williams
Marianne	Hilary King
Mrs Forrester	Judith Hilton
WPC Dobbs	Lydia Kakabadse
Sergt. Hoskins	Andy Walker
Sir James Forrest-Brown	Danny Kingshill

Stage Manager/Scenery	Jose Chismon
Lighting	Phil Groves
Make-up design	Clair Norman
Prompt	Rosie Cross
Orchestral supervisor	Martin Goodall
Musical numbers staged by	Kati Oliver
Directors	N.J. Ross and P.R. Newton
Conductor	W.C. Martin

I don't have a recording of the music but I do have a couple of printed songs from the opera. One of them was a Sondheim-esque waltz called "Young once, we were very, very young once..."

	Hilary King, Chris Bayton
	Jane Williams, Chris Bayton and Julian Breeze
	Steve Bowring, Lydia Kakabadse, Andy Walker, Don Gallagher
	Rachel Pask, Pat Quiruga
	Hilary King, Jane Williams, Don Gallagher, ... , Chris Bayton