Honorary Presidents/Members

Our Honorary Presidents and Members

Honorary Presidents

Honorary President since 1999

Maureen Pringle

Maureen was the last of the Florian members who joined under the old regime. In the early 1960s there were at least 5 or 6 drama clubs in Inverness – The Florians being “top dog” and very exclusive. Florian committee members would go to all the amateur productions and spy for likely members. If you were noticed you were approached and invited to audition to become a member by taking part in a production. After that you then applied for membership and either accepted or rejected by the Committee. She was invited in 1965/66 as was Jimmy Pringle and after appearing in Waltz of the Toreadors, they applied and were accepted.

From then until now Maureen has taken part either on stage, as a director, on the technical side or running Front of House in well over 100 productions (that’s scary!) and loved every minute of it. Her favourite play to direct is a tie between Lock Up Your Daughters (Eden Court 1988 and Habeas Corpus (Florian Theatre 1983 & 2013). When asked about her favourite part, she replied “Which ever I was playing at the time”.

Maureen’s motto for the Florians is FLORIAT FLORIANS! (MAY THE FLORIANS FLOURISH)

Jonathan King

Jonathan has loved theatre, music, and drama for as long as he can remember - his first stage performance was as a seven or eight year old. He has also enjoyed being in the audience over the years. When Jonathan lived in Glasgow, he was involved in both choirs and musical theatre. When he moved to Strathspey he discovered the Florians as an audience member and then quickly became involved both on and off stage.

Not long after joining the company as a member, the committee were keen to exploit Jonathan's knowledge of local Government and associated bureaucracy to hunt down funding opportunities. Jonathan therefore joined the committee and ended up serving over eight years as the company president.

Jonathan says: "These days my lifestyle keeps me away from Inverness a lot, but I still do what I can to support the fantastic work of this wonderful club and theatre!"

Honorary President since 2015

Honorary President since 2018

Trevor Nicol

Trevor joined The Florians in 1985 and has been an enthusiastic member ever since. He has played many diverse roles over the years including Doolittle in 'Pygmalion', Oscar Madison in ‘The Odd Couple’, Eddie Carbone in ‘A View from the Bridge’, Charles Condomine in ‘Blithe Spirit’ and Bottom in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. In addition to acting Trevor has also directed several successful productions such as ‘All My Sons’, ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ and ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’. He wrote many of the club’s popular Christmas pantomimes and was Club President from 2014-17. His term as President saw several improvements to the theatre including new stage lighting, a new sound system and the complete refurbishment of the auditorium. In 2019 he organised a very successful Open Day to celebrate the club's 75th Anniversary.

Trevor says: 'One of the achievements I was most proud of was tracking down Paul Vaesen, the son of our founder, Guy Vaesen and inviting him up to our 75th celebrations from his home on the south coast of England.'

Alan Holling

Alan became stage-struck after receiving praise for his walk-on performance as a dragon at the age of seven. Since then he has always sought to be involved in performing on stage whenever his family life and career as an architect would allow. At secondary school, Alan developed an interest in the classics such as Shakespeare and Ibsen, and made several appearances in Repertory Theatre. Although this desire continued at University, a need for stability meant that a more predictable career had to take precedence and it wasn't until moving to Stornoway in 1975 that regular stage appearances could resume with the Stornoway Thespians, Gaelic and English choirs and Rock bands.

Alan moved to Inverness in 1990 and got involved in local choirs and theatre groups, including the Florians for which he has performed, directed, assisted backstage, and been involved in the planning of extensions to the building. In 2020, Alan was appointed President of the company after some previous experience on the committee a few years prior. This was of course a very difficult period due to the pandemic but with the help of virtual reality, the club continued to perform. The period of closure was also used to install improved ventilation systems to make the return to normality a safe and comfortable experience.

Alan has enjoyed his time with the Florians and looks forward to what's still to come!

Honorary President since 2023

Honorary Members

Louise Munro

Louise joined the Florians around 1966 and quickly established herself as one of the public's most popular performers in the club. She was the first amateur actress on stage in Eden Court Theatre after it opened in 1976 when she appeared in the club's SCDA entry that year "Once Upon a Seashore". She was club secretary for 6 years in the 1980s and was solely responsible for obtaining the lease on their theatre from the local council.

Some of her varied roles are: Sister Mary Hubert in "Nunsense", Vera in "Stepping Out", Hortense in "The Boyfriend", Miss Marple in "Murder at the Vicarage, Mrs Squeezum in "Lock Up Your Daughters!", and Ouiser in "Steel Magnolias"

Honorary Member

Stevie Dougherty
Honorary Member since 1998

Stevie joined the Florians in the late 80's. Although he had no inclination to perform, his interests lay offstage and he built set and stage managed several productions. In 1992 Stevie was responsible for designing and building the raked seating in our theatre, the first step in transforming the hut into the Florians Theatre we know today.

Honorary Member since 2012

Nicholas Nicol

After having successfully auditioned at the Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, Nicky was offered a place at their school. However, due to circumstances at the time, he was unable to take up this opportunity and instead pursued a career in the Civil Service. Nikki's love of drama and performing never left him and it was this that drew him to the Florians Drama Club, which he then joined in 1977.

Over the next forty five years, Nicky participated in innumerable productions annually, both onstage and as a director. He has had experience in several genres, including straight drama, comedy, classics, pantomime, and musicals. Nicky has played many diverse roles from O'Keefe's "Rover" in the restoration comedy "Wild Oats" to "Dame Aisy Daisy" in his own original pantomime "Noelleon".

Nicky says: "I continue to participate in productions of all types in whatever capacity is called upon and appreciate the opportunities the Florians have offered me in fulfilling a lifelong passion."

Anne Bamborough

Anne moved to Inverness in 1987 with her husband Ken - they had both previously been involved with the Apollo Players in Glasgow for roughly 20 years - Ken as stage manager and Anne as a performing. A couple of years after moving north, Anne joined the Crown Players and Inverness Opera Company (IOC) and thoroughly enjoyed being involved with drama again. She was introduced to the Florians by a fellow member of IOC, Maureen Pringle, and so joined the company in 1993. Her earliest productions included Brighton Beach Memoirs, Juno and The Paycock, All My Sons, Under Milkwood, and The Vagina Monologues. More recently, Anne has been seen on stage in productions such as Barefoot in the Park, The Ladykillers, Vicar of Dibley (parts 1 and 2), and the Steamie. She has also been involved in several pantomimes and SCDA One Act Plays over the years.

Anne says: "It has been a privilege to have been involved with the Florians and also, in the last few years, to be part of the Junior Florians. It is great to see them growing in confidence and, hopefully, to go on to become more senior members. I want to thank all the directors who have cast me in the most memorable productions, and also all those who have helped with backstage and in the production box - we couldn't do it without you! Here's to many more years with the Florians!".

Honorary Member since 2020

Honorary Member since 2021

Caroline Nicol

Caroline was asked to join the Florians in 1991 for their summer variety show when they needed someone who could learn routines quickly. Her first role was in “The Boyfriend”, directed by John Claudius. The following year she was also Secretary of the club. Over the years she has enjoyed roles in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream", "Stepping Out", "Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime", "Pygmalion", "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", "All my Sons", and "Harvey", as well as numerous pantos. Caroline has written lyrics for many of Trevor’s pantos over the years. She now enjoys directing and in recent years directed "Spamalot", "The Steamie" and "The Vicar of Dibley" (parts 1 and 2). She is extremely proud of being able to direct two productions safely and successfully during the pandemic. Caroline is currently Club Secretary having taken on the position once again in 2019 and enjoys being in charge of social media and publicity.

Caroline says: "After a few years in Aberdeen I returned to Inverness. My first time back on stage with the Florians was as Annie in "Calendar Girls" which involved revealing a fair bit more of myself than in previous roles!"

Brian Howlett

Brian joined The Florians in 1982 to take part in the SCDA one-act play festival in early 1983, and stayed for the next 40 years (so far). In that time he has played many roles, from Ugly Sister to King in Panto, and policeman to convict in other plays. He has also directed in the SCDA Festival, and a couple of other one-act plays.

Brian was on the committee for a number of years, with a spell as secretary and vice president, although he only had to chair one meeting. Brian was in the Florians quiz team that failed to beat the Eggheads in 2017, taking one for the team on the subject of sport. He was also responsible for setting up this website back in 1999, and ran the "Friends of the Florians" mailing list until the membership was integrated with the main club members recently.

Brian hopes to have many more years of Florians fun!

Honorary Member since 2022

Photographs by Matthias Kremer Photography

Posthumous Members

We have a few honorary presidents/members who have sadly passed away, but we felt it important to mention them here so that we can remember them and their incredible contribution to the company.

Biddy MacBean (Honorary President): Joined in the early 1970s, passed away 2013
Calum MacDougall (Honorary President): Joined mid 1960s, passed away 2017
John Claudius (Honorary Member): Joined mid 1970s, passed away 2020
James (Jimmy) Pringle (Honorary Member): Joined early 1960s, passed away 2021
Stephen Vincent (Honorary Member): Joined 2010, passed away 2022
Claire Cameron (Honorary Member): Joined 1974, passed away 2022