Red Nose Day 2009

The original Blackadder II cast

Fans of the comedy series will be able to enjoy three very funny episodes from the second season of Blackadder and all in Chelmsford.

The Theatre Workshop are staging the production at the Old Court Theatre and it runs for two weeks.

A pound from each ticket sold will be donated to Comic Relief along with the licence fee money the theatre have to pay to the writers behind the series.

Dean Hempstead (L) is directing the play

The director of the new Chelmsford show is Dean Hempstead and he says they had to get the approval of the Blackadder creators:

"We wrote to Richard Curtis and Ben Elton and they asked for the licence fee money to be paid to Comic Relief.

David Chilvers plays Lord Blackadder

"We are very aware that if you put up a sign saying you're going to be presenting Blackadder it has got to be like how people remember it on the TV."

David Chilvers has been acting with the Chelmsford Theatre Workshop for around 18 months. He's now playing the lead role, Lord Blackadder, but he originally auditioned for the part of Percy:

Miranda Richardson's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I, or 'Queenie' as she's known in the series, is one of the key parts in the programme. Rebecca Errington landed the job of playing the notoriously fickle monarch:

Miranda Richardson as 'Queenie'

"I've been watching the episodes quite a lot. Just looking at her facial expressions and the way she speaks and trying to emulate that really," she said.

Rebecca says the chance to be in the show is proving to be fun: "It's really exciting, I watched it when I was young and I've always loved it. When I knew it was on I just wanted to be in it."

However, she has been getting some of her own interpretation into the part.

"You can be a bit more exaggerated and you can have a bit more fun with the character," said Rebecca.

Sarah Nower takes on the part of Nursie, and gets to sit beside Rebecca's throne.

Rebecca Errington and Sarah Nower

You might say this Blackadder play is a very cunning plan...

Mark Preston, certainly thinks so, and that's because he's playing Baldrick.

Mark Preston as Baldrick gets ready

"It's quite a challenge, I remember seeing the series in the early 1980s when it was originally on."

Being in a production at the Chelmsford Theatre Workshop can be quite demanding: "We usually rehearse for two or three months, three nights a week. It's a big commitment, but it is fun.

"We're trying to keep it as close to the original character, he's still sleeping in gutters!"

But as for the famous phrase about a certain plan:

"It's actually not in these episodes. He has similar lines, but no that must have come later on."

'Blackadder II' runs at the Old Court Theatre in Chelmsford between, 11, and, 21, March 2009 and tickets can be booked by calling 01245 606505.