Nikki Parker

Nikki started acting when she was at Primary School where she was chosen to play one of the two narrators in the school production of "Peter Pan". She also played a strawberry seller in "Oliver".

Unfortunately Nikki didn’t get much chance to get on stage during secondary school as she was always commandeered for the school orchestra to play the flute during any production. However, she was allowed at one stage to play a rose seller in another production of "Oliver"!

Nikki joined Ockley Dramatic Society in 1985 at the tender age of 16 and has been a fairly active member since. Her first time on the stage was during a review for fellow members that Christmas. Her part was in a quiz where the answers seemed to comprise of nothing but Pork and Canberra!!

Her first major role was in "Space Between the Years". One memory Nikki has of this play is during the performance for the Senior Citizens when upon looking up at the lighting loft which was on the stage opposite, she saw the person in charge of the lighting hanging out of the window trying to burst a balloon with a screwdriver to make it sound like a jukebox had blown up, with smoke pouring out of the lighting loft with the Stage Manager trying to find the bucket of sand which was unfortunately on the wrong side of the stage. Needless to say the actors on stage adlibbed marvellously and not one member of the audience realised that anything had gone seriously wrong.

Nikki has acted and helped with many plays over the last few years. She was chief understudy and fill in, tea maker and set painter during rehearsals of Bob Larbey’s play "Hiccups" which was directed by Bob himself and produced solely for the Mole Valley Festival of Arts at Dorking Halls. She has also acted in two other of Bob’s plays, "A Small Affair" and "Half an Idea". Nikki has helped backstage with numerous roles including sound effects, prompt and props.

Her last production was "Last Tango in Ockley" which was performed at the Barnes Green Festival, in which ODS won the cup for the best play.

Nikki has also held the positions of Social Secretary and Secretary. Whilst she has not acted in the last 5 years as a result of a degree that she is currently doing, she always shows up at social events and she has been known to help at performances, either front of house, or, perhaps where she is best known, serving behind the bar – or is that propping it up!!

Last updated 28th August 2001.

Productions participated in