CHIDEOCK PLAYERS

AMATEUR DRAMATIC GROUP

A brief history of the Chideock Players in the words of one of the original members Mrs Pat Hussey (written in 2002):

"For many years before 1947 there had always been an entertainment group in the village run by the schools or churches and after 1919 by the Womens Institute. Mrs Hutton took the lead as producer in 1947 before Mrs Josephine White took over in 1948 producing Bona Venture - a play all about Nuns as in those days the group consisted of all women! The group took on the name Chideock Players in 1950 for their first production of Blithe Spirit.

There are still a few of the original players in the village. So many local people were players - Mrs Weld, Mrs Kirby, dear Trixie Higham & Maud White and Leslie Fussell our president for many years.

I remember Mrs Veronica Bickford playing "Miranda" the mermaid - she was carried by Gilbert Legg as she had a wonderful mermaids tail. Derek Taylor was always available as our reliable "curtain puller" and John Newman built the lighting box, known as the "Doctor Who" box for many years.

We had many happy hours rehearsing and put on some terrific shows."

 

A list of our previous productions now follows:

     

Year

Month

Title 

1947     
1948     
1949   Bonaventure
1950 March Blithe Spirit  
1951 February  Arsenic and Old Lace 
1951 December  The Sport of Kings 
1953 April The Late Edwina Black 
1953 November  Pig in a Poke 
1955   The Happy Marriage 
1956   Ten Little Niggers 
1956   Miranda 
1957   The Happiest Days of Your Life 
1958   Will any Gentleman? 
1959   Bonaventure 
1960   Spiders Web  
1961   Haul for the Shore 
1962   Mystery at Greenfingers 
1963   Pool's Paradise  
1964   The Bride and the Bachelor  
1965   Six of the Best  
1966 March  Look out for the Catch  
1967 December  The Noble Spaniard  
1969 March  The Blue Goose  
1970   All for Mary 
1970 November Breath of Spring
1971   Gaslight  
1972 March The More the Merrier 
1973 March  An Italian Straw Hat 
1974 April  Night Must Fall 
1975 March The Brides of March 
1976 March  I'll Get my Man 
1977   A Lady Misled 
1978   Blithe Spirit 
1982 June Entertainment Evening
1984 March  The More the Merrier 
1985 April  What's Hatching?  
1986 March  Murder at Deem House 
1986 October Jane Panters Concert
1987 March  Where There's a Will 
1987 November Music Hall (an entertainment evening)
1988 March  The Paper Chain 
1988 November Music Hall
1989 November  Snow White  
1990 July  Lord Arthur Savile's Crime 
1990   Dick Whittington  
1991 June  Treasure Hunt  
1992 February This and That (and a bit of the other) - a Revue 
1992 July  The Magistrate
1993 July Ah, Cruel Fate! and Harlequinade 
1993 November  Aladdin 
1994 June Lark Rise  
1994 November  One Thing and Another (a Revue) 
1995 July  Tell-Tale Murder  
1995 November  Cinderella 
1996 June  See How They Run 
1996 November The Return of the Other (a Revue) 
1997
Feb/March
Bedroom Farce (This was performed at the Chideock Village Hall in February followed by the Bridport Arts Centre in March)
1997 July Murder in Play 
1997  December Robinson Crusoe  
1998  June The Other End of the Pier Show (a Revue) 
1998 December  Christmas Carol  
1999 March/April Pygmalion (This was performed at the Chideock Village Hall in March followed by the Bridport Arts Centre in April)
1999 July Mystery at Greenfingers 
1999 December Snow White
2000 April Relative Values
2000   Victorian Evening
2001 March/April Curtain up on Murder
2001 December Jack and the Beanstalk
2002 April 'Allo 'Allo (This was performed at the Chideock Village Hall followed by the Bridport Arts Centre)
2002 December Four Plays for Coarse Actors
2003 April/May Habeas Corpus
2003 December Goldilocks and the Three Bears
2004 April Daisy Pulls It Off
2004 November Goodnight Mrs Puffin
2005 April The Other Revisited (a Revue)
2005 November Jack and Jill in a Hill too Far
2006 July The Golden Pathway Annual
2006 November The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild production of MACBETH
2007 July Sand Castles
2007 November Mary Mary How Does Your Garden Grow?
2008 June Cash on Delivery
     
 
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