New Buckenham Players
Formed in 1979 after a group had previously arranged readings of ghost stories, performed Mummers plays and a Victorian melodrama. Pantomimes and light drama during the 1980's in the homely atmosphere of the "old" village hall attracted a loyal audience.
1990's highlights included Alan Bennett's "Habeus Corpus" and Chaucer's bawdy "Canterbury Tales".
In 1995, using the new hall for the first time, with the previously unknown delights of central heating and an indoor route from the Green Room to the stage, we staged perhaps our most challenging production of the time, Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa". We went on to take "Lughnasa" to the 1997 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Intellectually challenging material has included "Top Girls" (Caryl Churchill), "Oh What A Lovely War" (Joan Littlewood), and "Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell" (Keith Waterhouse), while recent comedy has included Peter Shaffer's "Black Comedy"
Our experience of musicals includes Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins" and Lionel Bart's "Oliver".
Three of our number wrote a pantomime, "Cosmic Catastrophes", performed in 1996. We continue with the pantomime theme for many December productions. Our acclaimed December 2005 production was "A Christmas Carol", ably directed by Sue Hilton-Jowett with possibly our biggest cast to date - 43 people on stage!
In recent years, with the improved Village Hall facilities and better publicity, we attract wider audiences.
The main thing is: IT'S FUN, and we try to involve many people of all ages in our productions!
We have about 45 members, and we welcome newcomers of all ages, whether to "tread the boards" or help with set building, stage crew, costumes, etc.
Last Production: Babes in the Wood (review available here)
Next Production:
To find out more, telephone: Louise Casson (Chair, 01953 860191)
Rehearsals: Tuesdays, and Sunday afternoons for the last few weeks before production.