Newsletter January 2011

Belated New Year wishes one and all. May* 2011 be happy, prosperous and above all, healthy for each and every one of us. As ‘Tiny Tim’ said in our November production of ‘A Christmas Carol’, ‘God bless us everyone!’ (* not just the month of May, but all year! Ed.)

This leads me into saying what a resounding success the play was. A new venture for us in joining forces with the Grange school in Hartford, it resulted in new members, the experience of working in very different surroundings and playing to larger audiences.  Enormous thanks go to Phil Perry, who against all odds struggled with setbacks, all with tremendous grace and charm, but in the end pulled it off. Thank you Phil !

Bye Bye Sue - On 24^th November we said a sad, but fond farewell to Sue Tamblin our Chairman, who with her husband Nick, has moved to Cornwall.  Sue keeps in touch and is settling in well to the local community of St. Austell, where she has already joined the ‘St Austell Players’.  We made sure that Sue will not forget us by presenting her with a picture of us!!! Phil Perry has kindly agreed to stand in as chairman until the AGM when a new committee and officers are elected.

Party Time - The Christmas Party was postponed until the new year and actually took place on 8^th Jan. 33 people attended and enjoyed music from the folk group ‘Madcap’ with a tasty hot-pot supper prepared and served by Gill Gregory. Thanks go to Andrea and Vanessa, who ran the Tombola and cajoled a lot of people into parting with their money!!

Work Party - A very worthwhile work party has already taken place in early Jan when an amazing 11 people turned out to help. As a result, the green room, long in need of a face lift, is now the beige room. We are eternally grateful to members for helping in this way and work parties will be on-going for some time to come.

Gas Cooker & Kitchen Cupboards - We are always on the lookout for things which will improve our theatre and our kitchen cupboards could do with a face-lift, so if you know of anyone throwing out theirs, please bear us in mind. We are also still in need of a gas cooker in good condition.

Next Production – ‘Billy Liar’ - Early into the new year, auditions took place for ‘Billy Liar’, our next play at Davenham which opens on Tuesday 15^th March running until Saturday 19th March. Doors open 7pm and all performances start at 7:30pm.

‘Billy Liar’ is a comedy with a strong underlying dramatic theme. A young man, Billy Fisher fights to escape his stolid, complacent and cliché-ridden background using his fanciful imagination. Billy began life in Keith Waterhouse’s eponymous novel. The book made such an impact that the film rights were immediately sold, starring Tom Courtenay as Billy, Wilfred Pickles and Mona Washbourne as Billy’s father and mother and Julie Christie as Liz. Rodney Bewes and Leonard Rossiter played the parts of Arthur and Shadrack respectively.

Only two weeks after the film opened, Keith Waterhouse received a telephone call from an old school chum, Willis Hall, with whom he had originally collaborated as a teenager on sketches for a youth club concert. Hall quickly convinced Waterhouse that the book would make a marvellous play and within three weeks they had completed the adaptation of the 190 page novel into a 75 page play script with composite settings. The play opened at the Cambridge theatre, London starring Albert Finney as Billy and Trevor Bannister (later Mr Lucas in ‘Are You Being Served’) as Arthur.

Our cast has Jamie Morris as Billy, Sheila Hetherington as Florence, Billy’s grandmother, Andrea Scott as Alice, Billy’s mother and Graham Wright as Geoffrey, Billy’s father. Beth Anderson plays Barbara, a fiancée and Jacqui Campuzano plays Rita, also a fiancée. Millie Outen plays Liz, a girlfriend. Matthew Darlow plays Arthur, Billy’s friend and work-mate at undertakers Shadrack and Duxbury.

2011 is not the first time this play has been performed by the ‘Players’.  Way back in 1970, former member Peter Riley produced the play and hopes to come up from Wales to watch this production. One of the young female members of the cast at that time was Paulette Anderson who has in 2011 become the producer of the play in 2011. Current member Janet Illidge was also in the 1970 cast.

We welcome several new members in both cast and crew and hope they will be with us for many a year.

Tickets are on sale at £7 from Bob Almquist 01606 45186 (email: Robert.almquist @ btinternet.com). Book early to avoid disappointment!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

FRIDAY 11^th Feb at 7.30p.m. Barbara Crellin invites you to spend an evening listening to readings to celebrate  Valentine’s Day. There will be a light supper of cheese and biscuits. Tickets £6 from Paulette 01606 79779

THURSDAY 17^th Feb at 8.00p.m. DAN Jazz with the Jonas Backman trio and Catherine Legard vocals. Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

THURSDAY 3^rd March at 8.00p.m. DAN Jazz with Wychcraft Big Band. Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

SATURDAY 5^th March - We have been invited to take part in an evening at Sandiway Library to celebrate ‘World Book day’. Anyone who would be willing to go along to do a reading or sketch of their choice, please contact me, Paulette on 01606 79779. The evening lasts from 7pm to 9pm and we would be expected to fill a slot of approximately 15 minutes.

TUESDAY 15^th March to SATURDAY 19th March – ‘Billy Liar’ – tickets £7.00 from 01606 45186

THURSDAY 31^st March at 8 p.m. DAN Jazz DB5 with Orli Nyles. Andy Scott (saxes), John Barber (trombone) Ulrich Elbracht (guitar), Ollie Collins (bass), Dave Hassell (drums), Orli Nyles (vocals and keyboard). Tickets and details from the DAN office 01606 41597

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Subs due!  subs due!  subs due!

And finally..... I am afraid January is the time when subs are due and this year, due to rising expenditure, the committee has decided to raise them to £15. If you have not already paid, please send to :-

Paulette Anderson,  24 Queensgate, Castle. Northwich CW8 1DX

cheques payable to: ‘Davenham & Sandiway Players’.

Thank you.....................

Phil Perry – Chairman 01606 46382
Paulette Anderson - Secretary 01606 79779
Bob Almquist – Treasurer 01606 45186

Auditions for "Billy Liar" this week

Paulette is holding auditions at the Players (59 Church Street, Davenham) on Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th January at 7:30pm. If you are at all interested in a part or helping with the production, Paulette would be glad to see you on either night. You can phone her on 01606 79779 to find out more.

dsp News Update December 2010

A Christmas Carol

Firstly, thanks to everyone involved with “A Christmas Carol” for making it such a successful production. Thanks especially to our audiences who turned out in large numbers and also contributed a big £574 to the BBC “Children In Need” appeal.
Many of the cast will have photos they could share with others. I am setting up an album on Picasa into which photos can be uploaded for all to view. If you have photos of the production and are happy to share them, please let me know and I will make sure you are authorised to do so. Just reply to this email and I will send you the details.
Players Party
"The Players' Renowned Christmas Party" has, for a number of good reasons, been postponed until 8th Jan 2011 at 7.30pm at the Players when, owing to the revised date, it will be known as "The Players' Renowned New Year Party". There will be music, dancing, a hot supper and central heating. Please let Paulette know on 01606 79779 or e-mail donpolander@tiscali.co.uk if you are coming, stating whether you want a hot-pot, chicken or vegetarian supper AND …..
PHONE OR EMAIL PAULETTE TO BOOK BEFORE CHRISTMAS - TICKETS £10
The party will be a good start to the new year's programme at the 'Players', which, after the resounding success of ' A Christmas Carol' promises to be a full and varied programme.
Next Production
Our next play' Billy Liar' is to be produced at Davenham by Paulette Anderson from 15th to 19th March. Auditions have been fixed for 11th & 13th Jan at 7.30pm. We last produced this play in 1970 at the Church Hall. The producer then was Peter Riley, who now lives near Tintern Abbey and plans to come to see our March production, just to check that Paulette has done it properly!
Jazz Evenings
The final DAN Jazz evening of 2010 was a great evening featuring young singer Sarah Ellen Hughes on tour showcasing her new album “Darning the Dream". The first 2011 jazz  date is Thursday 27th January.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions are due in Jan and have been increased [sorry] to £15. Hope to see you at the Party and but if not, have a wonderful Christmas. Meanwhile, check out our BLOG and website for up-to-date news 

Players Christmas Party now Jan 2011

Please note that the date for the Players (renowned) Christmas party has been moved back from 11th December into the new year. As a result, it will transform into the Players Renowned New Year party. Watch this space for the new date, likely to be early January 2011 - with live music and hot-pot.

Children In Need audience collections at "A Christmas Carol"

An impressive £574.00 was raised from audience collections after the Friday and Saturday performances - thanks very much to all who contributed !

Remember Carol Brown who moved to France about 3 years ago? Read on..

Retired? Me? not on your life. Iv'e never worked so hard, but I believe its good for the soul. We have decided not to open up gites for reasons I will explain later, however we are converting the barn into self contained accommodation for friends and family who want to visit. It will be some time before that happens as we still have the main house to finish converting, the grenier (attic) in particular. The gite market has been saturated and clients are becoming more demanding as time goes by. They require exclusive use of a swimming pool, satellite TV and many other luxuries. It would be difficult also to contain our children and prevent them from making any noise to disturb the guests. Also some of our animals would have to go particularly the cockerel. He is so noisy and randy. We have a Beagle called Rug, our cat Ember (these 2 are sworn enemies) We have 2 ducks, 3 hens and a cockerel called Flashman. We get a surplus of eggs usually but they are not laying at present so we have to suffer the indignity of buying them from the supermarket. We also have a large pond with 3 very big koi carp and about 4 goldfish plus a very small frog and lots of interesting water critturs. We are visited regulaly by the most beautiful dragonfies,butterflies and birdlife. We are surrounded by fields which are farmed for grains or sunflowers. We have made a lot of friends both french and english, and the boys are doing very well in the local school. They are speaking french now as if they always had.  I keep myself busy making jams chutneys and other preserves, plus cooking for the family. Jacky my daughter in law and I go to pottery painting sessions and when the better weather arrives, we will be out with the camera and painting pictures of our lovely village and the surrounding countryside. I do miss the Players though, for the productions and the camaraderie. However I do believe there is a drama group in Verteuil sur Charente, a lovely village not far from here (They have amost wonderful Chateau). When my french is a bit better I intend to join them. I am attaching a few pictures for you to see and show to whoever is interested.

Give my regards to everyone who remembers me and please keep in touch.

Lots of love

Carole   ------ See a slide show of Carol's home over to the right ----->

dsp Newsletter November 2010

“A Christmas Carol” at The Grange School Theatre, Hartford

Rehearsals are well under way for this month’s production - Charles Dickens’ classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ adapted by John Mortimer, to be performed at the Grange school theatre starting at 7:30pm on November 16^th, 18^th 19^th & 20^th plus a  Saturday matinee at 2:00pm as well as the evening performance on the 20^th. The story is the traditional one of Scrooge the miser who on the approach to Christmas is visited by the ghost of his late business partner Jacob Marley who warns Scrooge of the peril to his mortal soul if he does not reform. Marley tells him that he will be haunted by three spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come who will show him of the chances he has missed in life, the mistakes he has made and what awaits him if he does not change his ways. Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit (Scrooge’s impoverished clerk) and the rest of the Cratchit family’s Christmas Dinner tells their part of the story as does the jolly Fezziwig and the other characters we have come to know and love.

A Christmas Carol is a new venture for the Players in that it is being produced in association with The Grange School Hartford. The cast includes many students from the Grange and with Linda Sunners from the Performing Arts faculty of the school as co-director with Phil Perry of Davenham & Sandiway.

And tickets for the show…..

Another new venture for A Christmas Carol is that tickets can be booked on-line or by phone from Quaytickets – see details below.

Prices are £7 & £5 [children and concessions] and are also available via Paulette on 01606-79779.

Click on quaytickets (phone 0843 208 0500)  or phone Paulette on 01606 79779

Owing to the larger venue, please note that we require payment on booking to avoid logistical problems, but if you wish to take a chance on some tickets being available, you can still pay on the door.

“A Christmas Carol” is a large production and offers of help backstage or with props and costumes or scenery painting will be gratefully received. We are in need of any props relating to the Victorian age, such as lanterns, top hats, walking sticks etc.

Please contact Phil Perry  01606 46382 if you can help.

Goodbye to Sue Tamblin !

Our chairman, Sue Tamblin, is sadly leaving us soon and I am sure many of you will want to say goodbye. Sue has been a member of our players for many years now but is moving to a beautiful new cottage in Cornwall with her husband Nick.

As the sole Sandiway survivor of the merger with Sandiway Players about 12 years ago, she has been a regular and active member, not only as our Chairman, but in many productions. Sue’s highlights include winning the ‘Best Actress’ award from the Cheshire Theatre Guild as Auntie Ivy in  “Girls’ Night Out”.

Some other memorable parts Sue played were Sister Robert Ann in “Nunsense”, Helga in “Allo Allo”, Lady of Letters in “Talking Heads” and most recently Ida in “Cemetery Club”.

We won’t let Sue go without marking the occasion and so are having a little get-together after our committee meeting on Wednesday 24th November at 59 Church street. Please come along from 8.30pm and join us in saying farewell and wishing and her husband, Nick all the very best for their new life near St. Austell in Cornwall.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Tuesday 16^th Nov – Opening night of ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Grange School, Hartford 7:30pm

Wednesday 17^th Nov – No performance

Thursday 18^th Nov – ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Grange School, Hartford at 7:30pm

Friday 19^th Nov – ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Grange School, Hartford at 7:30pm

Saturday 20^th Nov – ‘A Christmas Carol’ at The Grange School, Hartford. Matinee at 2:30pm and Evening at 7:30pm

Wednesday 24^th Nov - Committee meeting at 7:30pm followed at 8:30pm by a farewell nibbles and drink evening in the bar for Sue Tamblin

Thursday 25^th Nov- Jazz Evening with 6PAC Jazz sextet. Tickets from DAN office on 01606 41597 or see http://www.danarts.info/p/brochure.html

Saturday 11^th Dec - Our renowned Christmas party with music, dancing and a hot-pot supper. For tickets and details phone Paulette 01606 79779

Thursday 16^th Dec- Jazz Evening with Sarah Ellen Hughes. Tickets from DAN office on 01606 41597 or see http://www.danarts.info/p/brochure.html

OUR NEXT PRODUCTION – “BILLY LIAR” 15^th-19^th March 2011

Our Spring production at Davenham is ‘Billy Liar’ produced by Paulette Anderson running from Tuesday 15^th to Saturday 19th March 2011. Auditions are already scheduled for Tuesday 15^th Jan 2011 and Thursday 19^th Jan at 7.30pm and Paulette will be looking for five women and three men of various ages to fill the cast.

CLUB NIGHTS

The forthcoming production of ‘ A Christmas Carol’ is going to be a very exciting and challenging venture for all and is going to employ most of our acting members plus a huge amount of backstage help. So if any of you are available for helping with front-of-house, including sales of tea, coffee, wine etc we would be grateful for your help. Please contact any of the committee if you can spare an evening. Because of this heavy commitment, club nights are suspended until after Xmas. Until the Spring, then, thanks for your support. And don’t forget, you can find up-to-date news about our events on our blog on http://dsp-davenham.blogspot.com/ or via our website at  http://www.davenhamplayers.co.uk/.