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NORMA DUNBAR
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Mrs Callipash, Dick Whittington
Players' Theatre, 1999
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With Miss Bush's words ringing in my ears (in case I should wish to teach!) I kept my RAD membership paid up and now I'm a proud Life Member.
My days were happy at BDS and I have always looked on Noreen and Victor as a second mother and father. Memories remain, like running out of class in my pointe shoes to find Mr Leopold, who was gardening, to ask for a packet of cigarettes for Miss Bush - he had them locked in a cupboard in the office. Or, when I was preparing for my Inter RAD, Miss Bush standing under my nose telling me to do a double pirouette en pointe and after about the tenth time of falling off and bursting into tears she said, "Now I have you under my spell"! When I went to get the result of the exam from Miss Bush she threw the report at me saying, "Everything I would have said, except pass at the bottom!" I have so many anecdotes perhaps I should write a book?
Paul did tell me that his mother was very proud of my burgeoning career, especially as a dancer in the West End. They all came to see me in my first London show, Kismet (they named a dog after it) with choreography by Jack Cole at the Stoll Theatre in Kingsway. The last show in which I was contracted as a dancer was Fiddler on the Roof at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1967 with choreography by Jerome Robbins; after a year I was given the role of the eldest daughter, Tzietel.
Norma subsequently appeared in a string of successful shows, playing the lead in Irma La Douce at the Lyric Theatre with a young Peter Brooks directing: The World of Paul Slicky at the Palace Theatre with John Osbourne directing: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Strand Theatre playing Tintinnabula with Frankie Howerd: Where's Charley at the Palace Theatre (I am reminded here by Norma that Pip Hinton, from Bush Davies Romford, was engaged in her first leading role with Norman Wisdom): Hans Anderson at the Palladium with Freddie Carpenter: Write Me a Murder at the Lyric Theatre: Winnie The Pooh at the Phoenix Theatre: Corpse at the Apollo and others at the Young Vic and Lyceum theatres. Her last West End role in 1999 was Mrs Callipash in Dick Whittington at the Players' Theatre.
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