Well, what a season it has been! All the plays received a warm welcome. We kicked off with
J.B Priestley’s ‘Time and the Conways’ which received three nominations from GMDF:
Evie Prescott – Best female youth actor
Anna Sewart – Best female youth actor
Liam Stuckey – Best male youth actor
Thanks must go to Ryan for his work in directing these young actors and getting the very
best out of them.
The pantomime (‘Sleeping Beauty), as usual, was sold out and received seven nominations:
Paul Lewis – Best dame
Liz Bradbury – Best villain
Jill Barney – Best fairy
Maisie Hinde – Best principal girl
Liam Stuckey – Best principal boy
Evie Prescott – Best comedy performance
Emma Haughton – Best choreographer
Thanks to Charlie for another fabulous script.
This was followed in February by a highly successful, ’60 Years of Musicals’. Thanks to
James for co-ordinating this and recruiting some amazing singers. Luke did an amazing job
pulling the numbers together and coaching all involved. Emma introduced some fantastic
choreography for the children and youth and roped me in to play Miss Hanigan from ‘Annie’!
Next, we had ‘Bride for a Vampire’, directed by Cheryl. Another successful production with
an innovative set thanks to Jackie and her team. It was a pleasure to welcome a young
talented actor, Jack Sweet, who played Alacaurd in his many guises.
Finally, we finished with ‘Bazaar and Rummage’ a Sue Townsend play about women and
their struggles. This was Gaelle’s debut as a director and a fine job she did working with the
actors to develop some wonderfully rounded characters.
The week after we hosted the GMDF One Act Festival. We had three entries, ‘Harry Ring,
Lord of the Potters’ (best junior production), ‘RIP Mr Shakespeare’ (best joint youth
production and best presentation) both directed by Cheryl and ‘It’s Good to Talk’, our adult
entry written by Charlie. In addition, Ollie Carter won best performance in the junior section;
Liam Stuckey won best performance in the youth section and outstanding actor in the whole
festival! Also, pleased to announce that Fiona Shirley won a certificate of merit for her
performance in ‘It’s Good to Talk’.
Thanks to all who helped, particularly, Jackie for her delicious catering and Gaelle for stage
managing throughout the week. It was an intense week but well worth the effort to get us
more widely known.
Next season is now finalised, and most parts were cast after very successful open auditions
on 2nd April. All the plays are now fully cast.
The Youth Theatre continues to go from strength as you can see from the nominations we
received. On that note I will be giving up leading the Next Generation so that younger people
can take on that role!
Jackie and Christine continue to look after and maintain the theatre. Thanks to Christine for
sorting out our blocked drain by organising the repair of said offending drain. We intend to
have the upstairs bar floor seen to over the summer. This is to alleviate the squeaking and
noise heard in the auditorium. It will be a big job and Jackie will oversee.
Please do support us next year. We still need to raise audience figures for the plays. You
won’t be disappointed!
Chris
Next Season 2023/24
The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde
3 rd - 7 th October 2023
Director: Chris Hall
Mother Goose
By Charlie Cook
5 th – 10 th December 2023
Directors: Jackie Vandyes/Christine Blease
Whipping It Up
By Steve Thompson
20 th – 24 th February 2024
Director: Helen Tyler
The Kitchen Sink
By Tom Wells
16 th – 20 th April 2024
Director: Ryan Ellershaw
World of Musicals
24th – 30 th June 2024
Co-ordinator: James Hinde
13 th /14 th July – The Academy ‘Harry Ring, Lord of the Potters’ and Next Generation
‘The Trouble with Teenagers’ (curtain up 7pm)
15 th /16 th July – Hire Tom Cliff School of Dance
18 th July – ‘RIP Mr Shakespeare’, Young Actors Company and ‘It’s Good to Talk’,
Adult entry GMDF One Act
20 th July – AGM 7.45pm
28 th /29 th July – GMDF Full Act Awards’ Evenings
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