When Felicity Peries was attending school in Clifton, Bristol, her mind often drifted off towards the theatre, which was already a dominant interest in her life.

After school a move into the world of healthcare meant Felicity's theatrical ambitions had to be placed on the back burner. However, they quickly resurfaced and in no time she built a big reputation for herself within local theatre, both as a player and director.

In a classroom near Felicity's, another young scholar's thoughts were moving in the direction of theatre and would soon lead her to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. The lady in the other classroom was Stephanie Cole, who, in addition to those hit shows like Tenko, Waiting for God and Doc Martin, has a string of theatrical successes to her name.

One of these, The Shell Seekers, is at present linking the two former Clifton schoolgirls together once again. Felicity has directed Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham's adaptation of Rosamund Pilcher's novel for the Clevedon Players and you can see it tonight, Thursday, June 11, and tomorrow, in the Prices Hall in Clevedon.

Carole Hockedy fills Stephanie Coles' role of the older Penelope Keeling, with Eloise Adams portraying the younger Penelope. Margaret Hobbs, Jessica Adby, and Chris Roberts play Penelope's children; Mike Lucker is the artist Lawrence Sterne and Roger Hockedy the art expert. Rowen O'Flaherty plays the mysterious gardener, Danus with Rosemarie Hill and Phil Pover completing a strong line-up of players.

Tickets are available from Souk in the Triangle, Clevedon Community Centre or by ringing 07816 158445.

It was sad to hear of the recent death of Brian Coulson, one of the best known and well liked MDs in the area. After moving to Portishead in the 1960s he became involved in Portishead Players' first full-scale musical, No No Nanette. His ability to play practically anything in any key helped the Singing Players, a group he co-founded with, among others, Bob Coffee and Betty May, to quickly establish themselves. He showed his talents as a composer by writing an original score in 1975 for Humpty Dumpty.

Among other shows he was involved in at Portishead was The Sound of Music, directed by Betty MacGregor.

In November, Betty will be keeping up the Players' tradition of original pantos when she directs Carol's Christmas, a musical version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Written by Peter Foord, Jenny Hazell and Miles Boyd will be in charge of the music.