WIXIT! is the sixth in a series of short plays by local author Trisha Wood under the general title Extraordinary Women. Written between 2008 and 2019 many of the plays have been performed in Little Gaddesden, both by the WI and Little Gaddesden Drama Club (LGDC). In 2013 the first five plays were recorded by LGDC – you can listen to them here. They have also been performed by other WIs and later this year will be published in book-form for wider circulation.
This latest play was inspired by BREXIT and indeed listeners may find some disturbing similarities between them. The title, itself a parody of BREXIT, arises from a decision of the committee of Great Titley WI to hold a referendum as to whether they should leave the WI’s National Organisation. Unexpectedly, the ladies vote ‘Yes’ by 52% to 48%, and the committee is charged with implementing the decision. Perhaps not surprisingly it turns out to be a far from simple task and has some wholly unexpected implications.
Listen now!
The five characters are the committee of their local WI.
Rosemary Lincoln, the President, is forceful in meetings but very much under the thumb of the county secretary Carol Smiley, who persists in interfering in the institute’s business. She is married to Bernard, a former high-flying company executive who now has difficulty in remembering the procedure for heating up a pie for supper when his wife is out.
Pat Lowe is the committee’s secretary. Quiet and deferential, she is also efficient and often acts as a peacemaker when there are disagreements. She idolises her retired husband Derek who everyone else regards as a bit of a prat.
Jean Thorn is a single lady and former nurse. Blunt to the point of being rude, she is a stickler for the rules and often finds herself at odds with the others. However, she is also talented and resourceful and never fails to surprise by her accomplishments and achievements.
Sarah Parsons is a businesswoman, a senior executive in an international company who spends much of her time travelling around the UK and Europe. She is married to Roger who has recently been made redundant and who is finding it hard to adjust to being a house husband. With the exception of Jean, who thinks she is overrated, the committee looks to her to advise in difficult matters.
Emma Bright-Biggs, Emma is by some way the youngest member of the committee. She does not go out to work since she has a growing brood of small children. Sometimes she seems uncertain on how many and the others have hardly known her not to be pregnant. She is always off the pace and manages to misunderstand much of what is being discussed. Her husband James is a lawyer.
Trisha Wood is a prolific author who has written widely for over thirty years. She specialises in comedy and farce and is much in demand as a public speaker.