AS you may know by now (not that we’ll be shy about telling you again!), from April 4 to 9, CODS will be presenting their latest musical "The Witches of Eastwick".

Based on the novel by John Updike and the Warner Bros. Motion Picture, "Witches" is set in the tiny New England town of Eastwick, Rhode Island.

Three modern day witches innocently plot and conjure over a heady brew of weak Martinis and peanut butter brownies. But when their longings are made flesh in the arrival of one Darryl Van Horne, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally.

As with all of our shows, this one has attracted a very capable cast and crew, but in this article we profile two in particular who are making a fine job of climbing a very steep learning curve.

In spite of limited experience, Mike Felstead and Perdie Wright have stepped up to take the major roles of devilish Darryl Van Horne and unwitting witch Sukie Rougemont. So who are they?

Both Mike and Perdie live in Crediton, but their backgrounds are quite different.

Mike is a relative newcomer to the town, moving here in 2013. He’s a Design Engineer and runs his own engineering consultancy, Ideas Realised.

He was introduced to CODS by the late and much missed Dave Baker, a stalwart of the society for more than 30 years.

Mike’s performing history is brief indeed. Starting in the chorus of "Trial on Pinafore", then graduating to the minor role of Ali Hakim in "Oklahoma!".

However, he’s now very much part of Team CODS, serving on the Committee, as well as the social media team.

Perdie has been in Crediton rather longer; 30 years.

She’s a familiar face as a partner in Olivia James Design.

She became interested in CODS after seeing our production of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Although she has prior musical experience as part of the Church Choir, Perdie’s sole theatrical outing before "Witches" was as part of the chorus in "Blitz!". As yet she has not had chance to get stuck in behind the scenes to the same extent as Mike, but says she plans for this to change.

One very important service Perdie and her Olivia James colleagues do provide, however, is acting as our High Street Box Office, selling our show tickets. A service that CODS is very grateful for.

Having discovered a little about them, we asked Mike and Perdie about their "Witches" experience so far, starting with what drew them to their characters?

Mike says he was keen to try a larger role. This, together with comments that he would suit the role well (not sure if that’s a compliment!), led him to audition for Darryl.

Meanwhile, Perdie says her choice was influenced by the real affinity she felt with the character of youngest witch, Sukie.

As to the ups and downs of playing their parts, both admit to some anxious and nerve wracking moments, but are also gaining a great sense of achievement and growing confidence. Mike also mentioned how much he’d enjoyed discovering his full vocal range; a surprise to him and, he suspects, to others too!

Looking ahead, we asked if "Witches" had fired them with enthusiasm to do more? Both answered with an immediate and definite “Yes!”.

Mike would like to tackle a dramatic play next, something well-known, such as "An Inspector Calls", but is also much looking forward to CODS’ 2017 musical "Made in Dagenham".

Perdie has less fixed ideas, but is every bit as keen to tackle whatever challenge CODS presents next.

Finally, we asked our two intrepid performers to give one reason why people should come and see the show.

They both pointed out that it’s something very different and exciting for the Society, highlighting a trend toward newer material, and a drive towards attracting both younger audiences and new members.

So there you have it, an evening of wit and wickedness with Mike, Perdie and the rest of CODS awaits you. Come along and enjoy a dance with the Devil!

The show will run at QE Lower School (Barnfield campus) April 4 to 9 and tickets are now on sale from Olivia James Design, or: www.codsonline.com .

David Tucker