The Characters:
| Chrissie: | Chrissie Carter is an eleven year old girl living on the island of Portland in Dorset |
| Christine: | This is Chrissie's adult self, now in her early 50s when the play opens on the beach |
| Mary-Jane | Chrissie Carter's best friend on Portland in the 1950s |
| Julie: |
Mary-Jane’s daughter, abandoned when she walked out on the family in Manchester in the 1970s when Julie was two years old. |
| Brenda: | Mary-Jane's social climbing mother |
| Jimmy: | A Georgie and young offender incarcerated in The Grove on Portland in the 1950s |
| William: | Chrissie's father, also known as Bill amongst the other men on the island. He is a coach driver |
| Henry: | Mary-Jane's father and the foreman at Suck Thumb Quarry on the island; an important source of Portland Stone. |
| Violet: | Chrissie's mother |
| Comben: | A prison officer at The Grove and a friend of Chrissie's family. |
| Billy: | A Londoner and young offender at The Grove |
| Nana: | Mary-Jane's paternal grandmother |
| Danny: | Nicknamed 'The Fish', he is a young offender at The Grove who is reputed to be a very good swimmer. |
| Rita: | One of Chrissie's childhood friends on the isalnd in the 1950s |
| Tessa: | Another of Chrissie's childhood friends on the island in the 1950s |
| Sophie: | A friend of Mary-Jane from the private school she attends in her teenage years. Sophie is also the daughter of the owner of Suck Thumb Quarry. |
| Daphne: | A neighbour of the Carter family on the island and married to Cliff. |
| Cliff: | A neighbour of the Carter family on the island, married to Daphne and a milkman by trade. |
| 1st Tittle Tattle: | One of the trio of island gossips. |
| 2nd Tittle Tattle | One of the trio of island gossips |
| 3rd Tittle Tattle | One of the trio of island gossips |
| Doris: | Violet's sister and a one-legged school cook and classical music lover. |
| Minister: | Non-Conformist minister at the chapel on the island. |
| Landlady: | A proprietor of a local B&B on the island. |
| Greta Garbo: | A glamorous representation of the 1930s film star in evening gown. |
| Audrey: | A beachcomber who tells Chrissie that she is, in fact, a mermaid. |
| Margaret: | The Minister's wife. |
| Nurse: | A nurse at the nursing home where Brenda lives in 1995. |
| David: | Sophie's brother and eldest son to the owner of Suck Thumb Quarry. |
| Alison: | A senior doctor on the HIV unit at the Royal London Hospital in 1995 |
| Ensemble | Various roles including children, seagulls, chapel choir, dancers. (These roles can be fulfilled by actors who also play other minor roles.) |
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