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UPDATED: 21st April 2012

Below is the character list and synopsis for the musical based on the true story of John Hemstock
Black. Subject to change.

Characters

The Actors

Conductor Charver (Mezzo-soprano) – The leader of the Dynamic Dramatics troupe. Eccentric, and
slightly unbalanced, she appears bipolar as she can be ecstatic one moment, and very dark and
serious the next. She traipses from town to town, delivering the story to as many people as possible
for her own purposes.

Whisky, Helena Haddock, Adrian Gaptooth, Pickled Pete, The Puppetmaster make up Captain
Charver’s Dramatic Dynamics. Helena and Adrian sing opera, Pickled Pete is a Professional Freak,
Whisky plays music and the Puppetmaster is self-explanatory.

The Audience

Mother, Father, and their two children Charles and Victoria are a middle-class family from London.
They are joined in the audience by Old Jane and a number of non-speaking characters who come to
watch the show.

The Characters

Both the audience and actors are called upon to perform the following characters in the story:

John Hemstock Black (tenor) – Aged 19. The title role, John kills James Snell whilst attempting to
steal money from his employers, who are also Snell’s aunt and uncle. Black is played by Charles, the
audience member. John is uneducated, uncouth and unable to hold down a job in a world that is
changing far too fast for him. This results in drastic mood swings and he often takes his anger out on
people – or furniture – around him.

James Snell (Mezzo-soprano) – Aged 12. The young boy who is killed by Black. A spirited lad, he
works in the farm shop, and puts up a fight when Black attempts to rob the boy’s aunt and uncle.
Snell is played by audience member Victoria, whose hair is cut short for the role, and she is given
male clothes to make her seem more like a boy.

Mother and Father (Soprano and baritone) – James’ mother and father are played by the same
mother and father who attend the show in 1854. Their role is fairly self-explanatory – search for
James when he goes missing, be devastated when he is found dead.

Mrs Lahootie (Mezzo-soprano) – the landlady who runs a pub called The Huntsman’s Gun. She hates
being stuck running such a miserable place, and her attempts to upmarket it with cocktails, wine and
fancy music are a source of comic relief throughout the musical. She offers John shelter when he is
on the run from the police, despite the fact he treats her badly. Mrs Lahootie is played by Helena
Haddock, of the actors.

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Liza (Mezzo-soprano) – John’s girlfriend. She works as a bar lady at the Huntsman’s Gun and has
hopes and dreams of settling down with him. She turns John in to the police hoping that they’ll offer
him King’s Evidence and that he won’t hang. She is wrong. The role is somewhat tragic. She is played
by Whisky.

Aunt and Uncle Wells (Non-singing) – James’ aunt and uncle who run the farm. They hire John and a
farmhand-cum-servant and pay him little money. Uncle Wells is the one we see onstage more – Aunt
Wells is only seen at the signing of the statute. They think of themselves as fine upstanding ‘pillows
of the community,’ but in reality, they’re only farmers. Aunt Wells is played by Helena Haddock in
the one scene she is in, and Uncle is played by Adrian Gaptooth, both of the actors.

Inspectors Peters and Jones (Baritone, tenor) – The two policemen assigned with finding out who
killed James and then tracking down John. They also tease him in Nottingham Gaol. They are played
by Father (of the audience) and Pickled Pete (of the actors).

Moss (Baritone) – The merchant that John passes the useless notes onto. He is uneducated, so
doesn’t realise that they are out of circulation. He is collared by the police for handling them, then
hands them the description of John, leading to the boy’s capture. Moss is played by Adrian
Gaptooth, of Charver’s actors.

Smaller Speaking Roles (which may or may not have singing):

Moatley (Played by Adrian Gaptooth)

The Hangman (Played by Captain Charver)

The Judge (Played by Adrian Gaptooth)

The Surgeon (Played by Pickled Pete)

The Drunkards (Played by Various)

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Synopsis

Nottingham 1854. An upper-class London family make their way to Nottingham’s Market Square,
where the traditional Goose Fair is in full swing. Joined by Old Jane in the audience, they experience
Conductor Charver’s travelling variety act (Dynamic Dramatics) including performances from
Whisky, Helena Haddock, Adrian Gaptooth and Pickled Pete of the actors. The audience is seduced
on stage to accompany them in telling the story of John Hemstock Black . . .

Charver’s actors set the scene (Hear about John Hemstock?). The story takes them back 40 years, to
1815 in the village of Retford, just outside Nottingham. James Snell, son of a clockmaker, is told to
help his Aunt and Uncle Wells at their farm shop in Clarborough, and he wants to make the journey
on his own, against his parents’ wishes as he is only twelve. He reaches the farm shop and starts
work.

The action is then diverted back to Retford, to a pub named The Huntsman’s Gun. Landlady Mrs
Lahootie sings of her aspirations in life (The Huntsman’s Gun) while she and Liza tend to the bar of
drunkards. At kicking-out time, Liza is left alone to clear up, and a man sneaks up on her from
behind. But it is only John, with whom she is romantically entangled with. They sing of their desire to
get of Retford (Dancing Over Tables). He says how he is due to start work tomorrow at the Wells’
farm in Clarborough, and will save money enough for them to achieve their wishes.

One day, travelling back to his parents’ house, James meets John in a field. We learn about the death
of John’s mother and how they are in debt from her funeral – she had to be buried rather than given
to the surgeon to dissect, to preserve her soul. (Save Her Soul).

As time passes, we see John becoming more and more disillusioned with the amount of money his is
earning in comparison to James, who takes home more despite being younger and doing an easier
job. When the time comes for the Retford statutes to be taken, Aunt and Uncle Wells leave the
house to sign their names and encounter John there. He asks if their servant girl is watching the
house, to which they reply ‘no’. Judging the house to be unguarded, he makes his way back to
Clarborough in order to rob the place. Of course, he encounters James, who has been left to watch
the farm shop in his aunt and uncle’s absence. There is a fight. John smacks James over the head
with a handy piece of wood and slits the boy’s throat. He then throws the body into the River Trent
and runs with two £1 banknotes which are out of circulation and therefore useless.

INTERVAL

After the interval, we join the actors standing around the body of James Snell where they give him a
mock funeral (A Lament) while John runs through the forest, torn by what he's done.

James’ parents are devastated by their missing son, and set out to look for him. They find no clues
and the police are informed, after which their son’s body is found by Moatley, one of the farmhands.

John, meanwhile, purchases some stockings from Moss with his banknotes. When Moss asks him to
sign his name, he uses the surname Black instead of Hemstock. He then takes the change to Liza,

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telling her how they’ll finally be able to afford their dreams (Dancing Over Tables (reprise)) whilst
sipping cocktails in The Huntsman’s Gun - Mrs Lahootie is trying new drinks in order to raise the
sophistication level of the pub.

The police bring in Moss, who has tried to cash the useless banknotes, and trace the registration
numbers back to the ones in the safe at the Wells’ farm. They get a description out of Moss, and go
to John’s home with the intention of arresting him. John escapes, finding shelter at The Huntsman’s
Gun. He protests his innocence to Mrs Lahootie, whilst Conductor Charver laments on how events
transpired, but John ultimately confesses to Liza (What is in your heart?). After wrestling with her
conscience she goes to the police.

Upon capture John is taken to Nottingham and holed up in Nottingham Gaol. The police inspectors
bring him some bread and cheese, and the blood-stained razor which he used to kill James is used to
cut it. (Gallows Humour).

At the courtroom, judge and jury are shocked to hear John exclaim matter-of-factly: “He was
saucy . . . and then I took the bar and dashed out his brains, and afterwards cut his throat with a
razor.” The jury find him guilty and the judge sentences him to execution. He also condemns his
body to the surgeon at General Hospital – to be dissected. Upon hearing this, John is devastated,
screaming while he is carried back to his cell. He decides that it is love and passion which have led
him down this route, and resolves to be cold and callous from now on. (Fate Takes No Prisoners).

Back in Retford, Liza receives news of John’s hearing. She laments how she had to turn him in, and
both she and he reflect upon how their lives could have been different (Save His Soul (reprise)).

John is taken to Gallows Hill and hanged in front of 5000 people, in a climactic scene which takes
place between the actual actors, and the puppet master of Charver’s ensemble (both the puppet
and actor are hanged together). He is then taken to General Hospital and dissected, meaning that his
soul is unable to go to Heaven or Hell and is thus doomed to wander Nottingham’s streets forever.

As we are transported back to the present (1854) Charver’s ensemble reflect upon whether John
ever had a soul to lose in the first place (Hear About John Hemstock (reprise)). The audience
disperses, as do the actors, leaving Charver alone on the stage with Old Jane. They recognise one
another as Liza and young James's mother. After a parting exchange, they agree to help one another
find John's soul.

As Old Jane and Charver exit after their final scene, the hanging puppet of John Hemstock Black stirs.

Songs

1) Overture Band
2) Dynamic Dramatics Charver, The Actors
3) Hear About John Hemstock? All
4) The Huntsman's' Gun Mrs Lahootie, Ensemble
5) Dancing Over Tables John, Liza
6) Save Her Soul John, James

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7) The Murder John, James, The Actors

ACT 2

1) Enter' act Charver

2) A Lament The Actors
3) Murder Most Foul Ensemble
4) What Is In Your Heart? John, Liza
5) Gallows Humour Police inspectors
6) Fate Takes No Prisoners John
7) Save Her Soul (reprise) John, Liza
8) Hear About John Hemstock? (reprise) All
9) Curtain Call Band

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