CAT'S CRADLE

by

Leslie Sands

The author, Leslie Sands, was born in Bradford in 1921. He was the son of a mill worker and amateur entertainer who made his stage debut by performing comic songs, with his father, at the age of seven. An early mentor of his was J.B.Priestly, the Bradford born playwright, whom he met in 1934 whilst appearing in a juvenile troupe that also featured a young Ernie Wise. These influences led him to act on stage and television and to write for both media. It is interesting to note that Sands made his first professional appearance at the Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, as Peter Storm in "Do You Remember?".

His play "Cat's Cradle" is not the usual "whodunit" mainly for the fact that it revolves around the disappearance, kidnapping and possible murder of a six month old child which occurred some twelve years before. So in this play there are no gunshots and no bodies in the library. There is, however, both humour and pathos and a complex and cleverly crafted plot which should keep every member of the audience guessing. By the end of the play, guilty secrets come to the surface, skeletons come tumbling out of cupboards and no-one is as they first appear, including the Inspector of Police, who on the verge of retirement, is desperately trying to resurrect his career by re-opening the case that ruined him.