Saturday Play - The Believers

The Believers. Liverpool, 1963. The Merseybeat boom is about to take off. And with it, The Believers, a Christian pop band determined to spread the Word. If only they were all singing from the same hymn sheet. Comedy drama by acclaimed screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. James..................................Ray Quinn Debbie.................................Samantha Robinson Billy.....................................Kieran Lynn Warren..............................John Biggins Reverend Michaels.............Rufus Wright Elder Wardle......................Gary Bleasdale Jenny................................Alison Pettitt Other parts played by Joanna Monro, David Seddon, Laura Molyneux, Jill Cardo and Keely Beresford. Original music by Carl Hunter and Mel Bowen Directed by Toby Swift *************************** Frank Cottrell Boyce is probably best known for films like '24 Hour Party People', 'A Cock & Bull Story', 'Hilary & Jackie', 'Welcome to Sarajevo' and 'Butterfly Kiss'. He won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 for 'Millions', his first novel, which was subsequently filmed by British director Danny Boyle. Another novel, 'Framed', was shortlisted for the Whitbread Book of the Year, the Carnegie Medal and then adapted by Frank for BBC Television. His first theatre play, 'Proper Clever', was written for the Liverpool Playhouse as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture Year. That year Frank also wrote a series of 5 radio dramas, 'One Chord Wonders', about the punk generation 30 years on. The music for the production was written by Carl Hunter (ex-bass player of The Farm) and Mel Bowen. It was performed by Dave Lovelady (drums/backing vocals), Billy Kinsley (bass/backing vocals), Dave Morgan (lead guitar/backing vocals), Chay Heney (rhythm guitar) and Beverley Keenan (backing vocals) with additional guitars from Carl Hunter and Mel Bowen. BIlly and Dave were in The Merseybeats and The Fourmost respectively, two of the most significant bands that emerged as part of the Merseybeat scene.