Back in 1992 Hyde Fundraisers started planning their first convention - REMEMBRANCE '93 . It was Nigel Peever who came up with the suggestion that we should perhaps do a theatrical presentation. One of the most unusual and unique things about the event was the ambitious idea of doing a live stageplay "The Trial Of Davros" which starred Michael Wisher as Davros once again. A surprise was the appearance of Peter Miles recreating his role of Nyder as one of Davros's witnesses. Other roles included Jean Rodgers (Dolly from Emmerdale) as The Inquisitor with the Prosecutor played by both Keith Noble and Stuart Glazebrook. The production was a great success, due in part to the dedication and support from Michael Wisher. Much credit also to Nigel Peever who actually managed to get everything together on the Sunday in what was a phenominal achievement.

In 2005 Hyde Fundraisers celebrated it's 20th Anniversary and to mark this milestone they decided to re-stage their production once again of - 'The Trial Of Davros' - on Saturday July 16th. The performance raised funds for the BBC CHILDREN IN NEED APPEAL and the NSPCC. Actor Terry Molloy reprised his role of Davros in this new and updated production. This revised production reflected Terry's portrayal of the role and included BRAND NEW specially filmed sequences within the new production. Once again the script was wriiten by Kevin Taylor and included contribution from Micheal Wisher and Terry. Micheal Wisher's input included a specially written scene for the production which would not have been reproduced elsewhere. One of the most exciting things for the project was recreating some new moments from classic Dr Who adventures. Fans were delighted to see new action from 'Death To The Daleks', further battles from the 'Dalek Invasion Of Earth' and scenes on Skaro featuring The Emperor !! Special guest in the SPACE YEAR extract was actor Jeremy Bulloch - famous for his role as Boba Fett in the STAR WARS films. The stage cast boasted actor Andy Wisher, son of the original Davros actor Micheal, as Prosecutor 1. The second Prosecutor was John Leeson, known to many as the voice of K-9 who returned in the new Dr Who series this year. Other cast members included Hylton Collins as The President, Peter Miles once again as Nyder with Katarina Olsson and Brian Miller! The show was an incredible achievement for Hyde Fundraisers and generated £8000 which was divided between Children In Need and the NSPCC.

THE much-anticipated highlight of Hyde Fundraisers' Ashton Sci-Fi Weekend was a special one-off production of the Trial of Davros at Tameside Hippodrome. The play saw Davros, the inventor of the Daleks from cult TV show Doctor Who, indicted for the destruction caused by his deadly creations. Thankfully for the audience, the Gallefreyan criminal justice system work more efficiently than those on Earth. Davros is hauled into court with consummate ease. There's no hiding from extradition like Augusto Pinochet or disappearing altogether like Radovan Karadzic. The Timelords simply pluck him from time and space Court proceedings are equally efficient. There are no adjournments or disclosures. The Timelord prosecutor, played in act one by Andy Wisher, son of original Davros Michael Wisher, and in act two by John Leeson, who provided the voice of the Doctor's cyberdog K9 during the Tom Baker era, conjures evidence from the space time continuam on to a video screen above the stage.

This takes the form of short films made on location by the Hyde Fundraisers. Actor Terry Molloy, in the role of Davros for the first time in 16 years, gets huge applause from the audience, which includes Darth Vader actor David Prowse on the front row. Other Doctor Who stars, such as Peter Miles as Nyder, go down equally well. Most of the actors are used to TV and radio but they adapt well to projecting their voices for the stage.

Terry Molloy keeps members of the audience on the edge of their seats in anticipation of Davros' every response by leaving dramatic pauses between delivering his lines. The Kaled scientist is unrepentant and manipulative from the start as he seeks to use logic to wangle his way out of his inditement and to force the Timelords to face tough questions of their own. The trial remains in tune with the mythology of Doctor Who but the trial scenario also recalls The trial scenario recalls Dennis Woolf's dramatisations of the Birmingham Six appeal, the Spycatcher and McLibel trials, and more recently the Shipman inquiry, and Tricycle Theatre's Nuremburg trials.

Kevin Taylor's astute script doesn't shy away from tragically perennial themes of race, genocide and outside interference, benign or otherwise in international, or intergalactic events. The play - we can give away the ending because it won't be staged again anywhere ever, ends in a bloodbath of Shakespearean proportions. The guards are killed and the Timelords massacred as an evolved super-Dalek glides on stage. The whole trial, it transpires, has been an elaborate ruse by Davros to destroy the Gallifreyans!

It's a gloriously brutal ending, mitigated only for keen Who fans, who will know that Davros will get his comeuppence at the hands of Sylvester McCoy in 1984's Remembrance of the Daleks, which is set in 1963. Which, of course, is in the future. Obviously. The supporting cast also put in staggering performances.

Your Reporter got a unique insight into the play by volunteering for the integral role of an imperial guard at the Gallefreyan court.

10am: I'm one of the first cast members at the Hippodrome, anxious to learn what my role entails and to apologise to Davros for ever imagining he could be Bad Wolf. The rest of the cast are at a breakfast rehearsal at the village hotel in Hyde. Scene Change are busy building the set Sculptor Phil Robinson, who designed most of the masks for the production, is filming the work in progress for a documentary.

12noon: The cast arrive and fellow guard Andy Loring, a police officer from Glossop, explains the role. "It's basically a tension position," he says. "We have to guard the entrance to the court room. We might have to do a couple of other things." Sounds okay. I didn't need to read up on my Stanislavsky. Having worked as a security guard at Manchester Arena for three years, standing still for long periods at a time should be no problem. Stage fright wont be an issue either, promises Hylton Collins, who is playing the Timelord president. The lights will be so bright, the audience will be invisible, he says. "Your only problem will be staying awake enough in the heat and lights to remember your cues." I have five of them, mainly involving a step to the left or two to the right.

3pm: The costumes have not yet arrived at the theatre and technical hitches threaten to blight the production. Cast members have to watch their backs for the numerous Daleks loitering backstage and in make-up being made to look their best.

8pm: There is much wiping of sweat of brows in the dressing rooms after a successful first act, throughout which I managed to stand still despite desperately needing to adjust the small child's bicycle helmet that forms part of the guards costume. Despite being an imperial guard, I'm surprisingly poorly armed so there was nothing I could do about the young child screaming "Daleks, Daleks!" through the entire act.

9pm: Terry Molloy is helped out of his chair, which is flooded with sweat. The play, which spent more than one year in production and less than one week in rehearsal, was, apparently, a success. But the audience get more than just a play for their charity bucks. The performance is immediately followed by a hilarious documentary charting 20 years of the Hyde fundraisers, narrated by sixth Doctor Who Colin Baker. After that came an auction of props and costumes from the play. Davros' chair went for £1,000.

With thanks to the Tameside Reporter for use of the article and images.