Our Honorary Presidents and Members
Honorary Presidents
Honorary President
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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) |
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Jonathan King
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Honorary President since 2015
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Honorary President since 2018
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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.' |
Honorary Members
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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
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Honorary Member since 2019
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Stephen Vincent
Stephen joined the Florians in June 2010 having returned to Inverness after eight years in Cyprus, where he was Actor/Theatre Manager for the Stage One Theatre Group. He has enjoyed being involved in the ensemble for Florians' pantomimes over the years and had great fun playing Sergeant Wilson in "Dad's Army". Another memorable role was playing Peter Quince in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", directed by the late John Claudius - "This was such a great privilege" says Stephen.
Stephen served as Club Secretary from 2011 - 2019. He was the administrator for the Junior Florians for a short spell, as well as the SCDA representative. Stephen also successfully campaigned for improved auditorium heating, which is now installed, as the theatre was always very cold apart from the front row! Stephen says: "I am grateful to The Florians for the great friends, the great fun, and the great theatre!!" |
Stevie Dougherty
Honorary Member since 1993
Honorary Member since 1993
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.
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Claire Cameron
Claire first joined the Florians in 1974 for their production of "Time and Time Again" where she was involved in sound production - she had been invited along by another member at the time, the late Jimmy Pringle. In 1992, she performed in the pantomime "Cinderella", following which she was involved in pantomime for the next 15 years.
Aside from performing, Claire has been heavily involved in directing for the Florians. She has been the director for several one act plays which have been performed as part of the SCDA competition. She has also directed several full length plays over the years, including "Aurelia", "Calendar Girls", "Ladykillers", and "Blithe Spirit". Claire is a keen artist and has been involved in set design and painting for the Florians - this included painting toadstools at 2am in the morning for one show. Claire says: "My favourite role was playing Mrs Henry Higgins in "Pygmalion". I have also enjoyed dancing in pantomimes, music hall, and musicals throughout the years. I am honoured to be part of the Florians!" |
Honorary Member since 2015
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Honorary Member since 2012
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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." |
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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 2015
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Honorary Member since 2021
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Caroline Nicol
Caroline was asking 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!" |
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
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