Val Archer

Val has been a much loved and respected member of the Society for ….. years! (She does know but will not tell us!) She certainly is a very, very, very active member. Val started treading the boards at a very tender age and really hasn’t stopped since!

At five feet and one half inches she sure covers a lot of ground (good things come in small packages!). She joined the society playing Doctor in the House and has appeared in many other acting parts for Wythall. Val also directs, but prefers acting, her directing credits include The Time of Your Life, The Militants, (probably her best work was Untimely Ripp’d and the Olde Tyme Music Hall, due to her feeling for the 1900’s – even though she is far too young to remember them(!). The society is always keen to have Val back in the directing chair – how about Les Mis or The Phantom?

Val has also been a past chairperson of the society, and was for many years the Society secretary.

On the acting front, one of her most interesting performances by far was the rear end of the donkey in Dennis and the Donkey! Seriously, Val has been mentioned in many reviews and has had many excellent performances, and to name just a few – Hester in Deep Blue Sea, and Barbara in Pack of Lies, she has played such roles as Elaine in Night Watch, Maude in Sarina Fair and the aging Lady Matheson in Separate Tables.

In her 1982 role in Portrait of Murder a local reviewer said:

“Star of the show was undoubtedly Val Archer, as an authoress whose entire personality had been changed as the result of an accident. Her portrayal of the contrast between her “two selves” was piece of perfect artistry.”

In 2005 Val played the Grandmother in Lost in Yonkers, a fantastic performance of a dominating woman left to look after her two grandsons. Her most recent performance was as the fun loving Lucillein Cemetery Club (March 2006).

Interestingly, during Lucky Sods, Val played the part of a wheelchair bound mother in a ‘granny’ wig – she looked very frail indeed. Her acting must have been good because two local representatives of another society got quite worried … because Val was to be their next choreographer!

Val has also supported numerous shows in back stage roles – properties, assistant director, dresser, sound effects (who can forget the sausage splashing in Neville’s Island?) ….. and so on. Val also co-directed the Company’s fantastic production of Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (2006).

Zips are Val’s greatest problem. They tend to let her down. At her 21st birthday party one malfunctioned, and on stage during a tap dance to Top Hat, White Tie and Tails she made frantic efforts to hold up trousers and twirl a silver topped cane at the same time. ‘I failed on both counts’ she says wryly. ‘You just can’t tap and give a good performance with your trousers around you knees…’

Val has worked as choreographer at Redditch Operatic Society during the last few years and has really challenged the chorus… especially the men! She also gave a stunning performance as Bloody Mary in Redditch Operatic production of South Pacific in 2006.

Val’s main hope for the future is not to be taken seriously! Val’s favourite song is ‘I’m Still Here’ and in a recent production of ‘Follies’ with Bournville Operatic Society she acieved that ambition with a stunning performance.

Val’s more recent and brilliant performances for Wythall were as Miss Marple in our fantastic production of ‘A Murder is Announced’ (November 2007) and as Clairee in ‘Steel Magnolias’ (May 2009). Val has amazing comic timing and Clairee allowed her to polish off one liners with aplomb!

In 2010 Val showed how versitile she really is by playing a seven year old ‘shepherd’ in ‘The Flint Street Nativity’.