Aged 10, I was in the playground at Banff Academy, enjoying a football knock-about before the 9 a.m. start when another pupil stunned me with the news. I can even remember where I was standing!

Now, almost 50 years later, the crash has come to the stage of the Abbey Theatre, reminding us that also killed were singers Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, as well as the pilot, Roger Peterson.
And a check of an encyclopaedia proves that the 'facts' of the flight and crash are exactly as narrated in the play, 'Heaven Can Wait', by David Cosgrove.

The set is a 1950s soda shop, and initially the three singers are shown in the finale of the previous night's show.

Then seats are moved and they are in the aeroplane, with the young and inexperienced pilot, Roger Peterson. They are cold and tired, and their mood is not helped when they find that the pilot has failed exams on flying by instruments - several times.

The engine cuts out, the plane dips - and the crash happens.
But they are exactly as they were before the crash, apparently alive, and are astonished to find themselves in the cafe - even more so when they are joined by Stella, who emerges from the fridge. There are no doors or windows in the cafe.



Interspersed by songs from the period, Stella, played with great skill by Vicky Milne, explains to the stars that they were not 'meant' to die as soon as they did, and that they had to remain in the cafe, a sort of limbo, until they had undertaken their 'three steps to heaven'.

This they do, with humour and a great deal of emotion as the veneer of stardom is stripped from them.

Stella metamorphs into relatives of the others as they come to terms with emotional blocks they did not realise they had.

It's an all-star cast, and there were times even during the first night when the four males, playing as a band, relaxed to the point where they were exchanging jokes.

Buddy Holly is played by Stefan Milne, Ritchie Valens by Alan Johnston, The Big Bopper by Ged Ryan and the pilot by Cliff Cuthbertson.
Sometimes, the singing is eerily like the originals. Although at times there are backing tracks, each is equipped with a guitar, and I seem to remember the comment that if the pilot had been as good at flying as he was playing the bass guitar, they wouldn't now be dead.

The singers are on the stage for the entire play, the pilot joins soon after, and Stella arrives just after the crash. Remember, there are no doors and windows in the cafe. Apart from ... well, you'll have to join the audience to find out!

'Heaven Can Wait' was something truly different, and it is to the credit of producer Carol Bruce that she tackled it, and did so successfully. Audience comment on the way to the car park was enthusiastic and positive.

Stage managers are Marjory Robertson and Laura Adam; set construction is by Dave Ferguson, Ian Anderson, Sandy Wallace, John Scott, Bob Johnston and Jim Jamieson; and the set was painted by Caroline Pennant Jones, Roz Armstrong, Dorothy Parfitt and Linda Patterson.

Lighting and sound are by Stephen Gilbert and team; the hardly-used prompters are Judith Sanderson and Sheila Ratcliffe; costumes are by Lex Sawley and cast members; publicity, Anne Smith; front of house, Bob Sawley and theatre members; and catering, Jean Henderson and theatre members.

A delightful exhibition of watercolours in the upstairs coffee lounge is by Bob Chaplain.

'Heaven Can Wait', will run until Saturday, September 6.

The next Abbey Theatre production will be 'April in Paris' by John Godber. A quiet couple win a romantic break in Paris, which changes their outlook on life, somewhat hilariously. It will run from October 20 until November 1.
G.W.C.