Betty Bailey

This is a very special spotlight to celebrate an incredible service to Erith Playhouse.

Betty Bailey, affectionately know at “Betty the Box” is retiring from our Box Office after completing forty years of continuous service. Since taking over from her mother in 1963, Betty estimates that she has processed around half a million tickets.

This is such an achievement that last year the Arts Council of Bexley awarded Betty the Festival Trophy, for outstanding contribution to the arts.

But running the Box Office is only part of Betty’s work at Erith Playhouse. As a founder member of Erith Theatre Guild, she has performed in or worked backstage on over 200 productions. Although enjoying each and every one her highlights include playing the mother in Noel Coward’s “This Happy Breed” with eight changes of costume and seven hair styles of her own hair. Twice as the headmistress in “Happiest Days of Your Life”, Ma in the “Sailor Beware” trilogy and Nancy in “Oliver.

Betty is equally proud of her family’s involvement - husband Colin, sister, brother, daughter Kim, granddaughter Rebecca, and Smokey her Blue Burmese cat have all performed at the Playhouse!

Erith Theatre Guild is grateful and indebted to Betty for all her work running the Box Office, and we all look forward to many more years’ involvement both onstage and backstage at the Playhouse.

Ian Humphreys

In the Spotlight for Rhythm of Life
July 2004