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Kirkie Pays Tribute
A drama club survives, and indeed thrives, due to the dedication and hard work of its members and in every drama club
around the country, there are those members who regularly go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the
continuing success of their club.
In the Kirkintilloch Players, Bill Todd
was one of those members. Having
originally come down to the theatre to
fix a radiator at the request of his
daughter Elaine, he found himself
joining the club along with Elaine, his
wife Sheila and other daughter Jackie.
This led to a long, fruitful and happy
association with the Kirkintilloch
Players with Bill being involved in the
renovation of the theatre on more than
one occasion, being Club President
twice and Business Manager
extraordinaire on many occasions over
more than 20 years. Bill's business
acumen and spreadsheets were
legendary and, as a result, he was
persuaded by his good friend Keith
Robinson to help the SCDA turn round
their financial situation by taking on the
rôle of National Treasurer. More importantly than all of this, Bill was a great friend and one of life's true gentlemen,
known affectionately to many in the Kirkintilloch Players as "Uncle Bill".
In recognition of the high esteem in which Bill was held by one and all, it was decided that the proceeds from the
opening night of our Autumn production, "Parking Lot in Pittsburgh" by Anne Downie, would be donated to Cancer
Research, a charity chosen by his family. In addition to this, audiences were invited to donate to collecting tins during
the run of the play. In total, this raised over £800 which will be donated to the charity in Bill's memory.
The opening night of the play was performed in honour of Bill and many of his family and friends were in attendance,
including his daughters Elaine and Jackie and his much loved grandson, Billy. Keith Robinson gave a short speech at
the end of the play ( Sheila had to lie in an open coffin at the start) before the cast, crew and family gathered for
drinks and nibbles.
The play itself brought many challenges as it explored the complex relationships between 5 sisters separated by both
geography and social circumstance. Although, at its heart, a very human drama, the play was written to be performed
in quite a stylised manner providing challenges for Lorna Campbell as producer, Mary Heatherwick as her able
assistant and the whole cast and crew. As opening night drew ever closer, we all began to wonder if we would be
ready to perform; our dress rehearsal will stay in the memories of many (as one of the funniest) for a long time to
come! However, the show must, and did go on and was very well received by audiences throughout the week. The
cast, led by Bill's wife Sheila in the central rôle of Maggie, rose to the challenge of bringing out the humour and
pathos in Anne Downie's writing. The play
had a cast and crew of 36, including 4 new
members and 6 of our older youth members,
taking on the rôles of young Maggie and her
fiancé, Jim. These were their first parts in an
adult production and they also took on the
job of stage crew when not performing. They
did a sterling job and we hope this will
encourage them to join our adult section
when the time comes.
Wouldn't Bill have just been in his element,
there in his beloved Turret, wearing his
signature pink tie, delighted to see Sheila at
the heart of such a successful production and
thrilled to see the club he loved thriving?
Uncle Bill, we hope this was a fitting tribute;
we hope we did you proud.
Hilary Lynas
22