… the curtain has come down on the final performance … Sir Marmaduke has issued his final invitation to another feast … John Wellington Wells has time to get his breath … Lady Sangazure can shed those terribly hot furs … Charlie Chaplin has enjoyed his last flirt with the bridesmaids … and the Ploverleigh air is no longer “charged with amatory numbers”. The cast enjoyed the show and the audience were enthusiastic. But all is now just memory (though you can access the programme at this link and find out how Charlie Chaplin came to be in a G&S chorus-line), and we’ll all have to wait until June for the next chance to hear our Society in action. Thank you to everyone who made this show such a success.

That was the reaction of one audience member to Thursday’s first performance of The Sorcerer. And last night’s performance had the extra ‘lift’ that comes from having an enthusiastic crowd in the hall – the cast respond well to laughter and clapping! If you want to see why young Alexis is being cheered on, and why the chorus look so individual, and what happens when “Love, the housemaid, lights the kitchen fire”, you’ll have to turn out this afternoon or this evening. Get there early, buy your ticket, have a drink in the bar, and enjoy a splendid evening’s entertainment!

So that’s settled it … they’re officially betrothed, and the settlement paperwork has been signed; four ‘Roaring Twenties’ bridesmaids in the foreground; a handsome couple of fine singers arm in arm; proud father about to order the drinks … what could possibly go wrong? To find out, come to Carnegie Hall tonight, or on Saturday, when we’re on stage for both matinée and evening performances.

This what the set will look like at one point during the show that’s on at Carnegie from Thursday to Saturday this week. To find out why the villagers of Ploverleigh are happy – and why a key member of the cast has left the set – you’ll have to come to see our production of The Sorcerer. Lots of fun is being had on the stage, accompanied by some splendid singing and playing, and it really would lift your spirits to come and see it. Tickets (£15; £14 concessions; £5 under-16s) are available in advance from the Carnegie Hall Box Office, in person, by phone on 01383 602302, or on-line at this link. Or just come early, and buy your ticket at the door. We guarantee that you’ll not regret it!

There are some amazing future artists and scientists in Fife! Before Christmas, Commercial Primary School’s Primary 4 teachers, Karren Aitken and Adele Lang, and Saline Primary School’s Primary 3/4 teacher, Gillian Hanlin, kindly hosted a Dunfermline Gilbert and Sullivan hands-on “Colour and Fizz” chemistry workshop, introducing The Sorcerer.

We also ran an art competition for Primary 4 at Commercial Primary School, and the happy prize-winners are shown above. You’ll find a list of them and more information and pictures at this link. The winning pictures will be displayed in the Carnegie Hall foyer during next week’s run of The Sorcerer (21–23 February). Hopefully, there will also be room to display a few more of the other amazing Primary 4 pictures.

Geoff led a team of publicists at the Kingsgate Centre in Saturday who distributed ‘Sorcerer’ flyers and information to passing shoppers and encouraged them to come along on Thursday to Saturday next week.