Harper's Locket is a play performed by Cornley Drama Society . It is the fifth installment in The Goes Wrong Show , and was first aired in the UK on 24th January 2020.
Synopsis[]
Celeste Fennick, her father Bernard, and her fiance Edwin, are playing croquet in their garden whilst her sister Emily paints a picture of the scene. Edwin and Emily go indoors, and Celeste tells her father she wishes to marry for love, not money, but her father says his money will look after her when he is gone. Bernard then also goes indoors, but Celeste waits in the garden to meet Harper, the stable boy, claiming to be interested in horses. However her real interest is Harper himself. After they have met, and Harper has gone on his way, Celeste returns inside as a storm is brewing, and the family sing "Home! Sweet Home!" around the piano.
It is evident that Emily is highly talented in music as well as painting, (Annie struggles unsuccesfully to live up to her character's talents!) and we learn that Edwin is romantically involved with her - he is only marrying Celeste for her dowry. Emily tries to end the relationship, but Edwin threatens to tell her father about their past if she refuses him now. Harper witnesses this discussion, and Edwin gives Harper a one-pound note to keep quiet, but then frames him for its theft, causing Bernard to dismiss Harper from his service. On leaving, Harper gives Celeste a locket, and they arrange to elope later that evening.
The family sit down to dinner, but halfway through, Edwin recognises the locket and Celeste confesses she is planning to run away with Harper. Emily in turn confesses to her past "liason" with Edwin. Edwin goes outside and shoots Harper's horse Treacle, then turns his gun on Harper, but Celeste dives in front of the gun and is shot. Emily produces another pistol and shoots Edwin to avenge her sister. However, Celeste revives because Harper's locket deflected the bullet that hit her, and Treacle is also revealed to have survived. Bernard gives Celeste his blessing to marry Harper, and the family, now including Harper instead of Edwin, go inside and sing "Home! Sweet Home!" again.
Cornley Cast[]
- Celeste Fennick - Sandra Wilkinson
- Emily Fennick - Annie Twilloil
- Bernard Fennick - Robert Grove
- Baron Edwin Graves - Chris Bean
- Smythe - Jonathan Harris
- Mrs Hargreaves - Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carroway
- Treacle (horse) - Dennis Tyde
- Harper - Max Bennett
- Trevor Watson (himself)
- Cat
Trivia[]
- The cat in this episode is called Stuart and is 10 years old.
- Trevor picking up the cat is inspired by a real event, when the cat was supposed to walk off but didn't, and the lady in charge of the cat crept in to shot to take him. The idea formed to have Trevor take the cat out of shot.
- Edwin's waistcoat twice acquires a bullet hole when the gunshot effect goes off prematurely, once during the croquet game and again in the showdown with Emily - the second time with added bloodstains. But each time, in the next scene his waistcoat is intact again. (Of course, it then fails to go off on cue in the final scene)
- Before Harper enters, Celeste waves in the direction of the audience, but Harper comes in on Treacle from the back of the stage.
- The body of the horse is reused in The Spirit of Christmas as Rudolph.
- The part where Max is walking backwards and forwards up and down the step was created in rehearsal, when they saw that the set had a step.
- This is the second time Dennis tries to bring his character into the plot, even though he is an object. In the Pilot (Not the Pilot) he asks if the machine is the spy, and in Harper's Locket he asks if the horse should take the money, to buy apples.
- Celeste (Sandra) addresses Treacle as "girl", indicating that Treacle is female - the only female character in the "Goes Wrong Show" series to be played by a male actor.
- Dennis used to have a line to say that horses would spend money on hoovers. On the reply "Horses don't have hoovers!" Dennis would say, "Yes they do, they have them on their feet".
- Greg Tannahill actually jumps through the glass; a stuntman did it first then Greg performed the stunt himself.
- When Robert is reading the Dr Frog script, you can see Max is mouthing the lines along with him.
- The high note for Jonathan to break the glass is sung by Nancy Zamit.
- The noises of the cat inside the piano were done by Bryony Corrigan.
- The blades of the fan were made of foam so it wasn't dangerous if they hit the actors.
- This episode marks the first pre-watershed backside to be shown on BBC 1.
- Sandra prevents Max from kissing her on the lips towards the end of the episode. If the events of Peter Pan and A Christmas Carol are to be taken as canon to the events of the series (itself a topic for debate), this may suggest they had a falling out at some point.
Gallery[]
