Newcastle Players Story Published

In 2007 Stoke-on-Trent’s Mitchell Memorial Theatre is celebrating its 50th Anniversary and The Newcastle Players, the group that has used the theatre longer than any other, has published its own story.

“Founded 1934 – The Story of the Newcastle Players” traces the history of the group right up to the present day from its beginnings over seventy years ago, performing first in church halls and later in the Municipal Hall in Newcastle-under-Lyme before moving to the Mitchell Memorial Theatre, Hanley in 1958.

There are two versions, both containing a wealth of information about productions, people and places that have played an important part in the story of the Newcastle Players through eight decades:

- A 180-page illustrated book written by Geoff Price, who also took many of the photographs

- A 4-CD audio version, mainly read by the author but also containing the recorded voices of other members.

Author Geoff Price says: “I have only been a member of the society since the mid-sixties, but I have had access to the reminiscences of members, who were there at the beginning or at least from the very early years, and also our archives which contain a great deal of valuable information.”

Both versions of “Founded 1934 – The Story of the Newcastle Players” by Geoff Price are available direct from the author at 103 Paris Avenue, Newcastle, Staffs. ST5 2QP at £9.95 – plus £1.25 (book) or £1.60 (CDs) to cover second class postage and packing. Cheques should be payable to G. H. Price.

The proceeds from the sale of the book and CDs are going to the fund which the Newcastle Players have set up to pay for urgent repairs to the society’s Theatre Workshop, a Grade II Listed Building in Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent where it builds and stores scenery for its productions.

Costume Theft In North West London

In the middle of last week a garage/store that Garden Suburb Theatre maintain in Finchley was broken into and a huge number of valuable costumes were stolen. They are asking all societies to keep an eye open in case anyone tries to off load these for sale.

Tony Newton from the Society released the following information:

Well over 300 costumes were stolen, many of which are irreplaceable. They include the Munchkin Mayor's costume needed for our production of Wizard of Oz in 2 weeks' time.

The costumes included some mediaeval ones used in "The Lion in Winter," some Tudor used in "The Prince and the Pauper" many Victorian and Edwardian such as those used in "Pygmalion" and "The Importance of Being Earnest".

Some costumes date back to the earliest days of the society in 1910.

The society is unusual in making nearly all its own costumes and the Costume Team are proud of the fact they have won many awards for the accuracy and brilliance of their work. For many years we have hired out costumes to other societies.

Frances Musker who has been a leading light in making costumes for 40 years used to lecture in costume design at the V and A. She made the following comment: "To lose nearly all our costumes two weeks before our next show is devastating. I cannot imagine how we are going to replace them. The amount of detail and the range of costumes makes them a unique collection. I cannot even begin to think about how much they are all worth."

We would like all drama societies and costume hire shops to be on the look out if they are offered costumes and report it directly to the police.

Contact Tony on 020 8888 1851 or the Chairman Terry Rogers on 020 8449 5565 if you have any information, or of course call the police direct.

New Logo Decided

I have just spent the last week torn between two excellent entries for the Amdram.co.uk Logo Competition. I liked both for different reasons. In the end Stage Presence agreed to supply a second prize so that both entries could win. The winning logo was designed by Julian Cound and his logo will shortly be appearing on the site. The other winning logo was designed by Adrian Baker and that logo will be used on different parts of the site as appropriate. Congratulations to both. Kathy from Stage Presence will be contacting them shortly to arrange delivery of their prizes. Thanks also to everyone else who submitted an entry. All were of a very high standard.

Should Pantomimes Be Updated?

NoDA certainly think so - well according to a Telegraph article, NoDA want to see Big Brother - The Panto. Personally I hate "reality TV" and the thought of it coming to a stage near me makes me shudder! A discussion has started in the forum - so have your say.

The 2007 "Yellow Stages" Fairytale Classified Calendar

What better way to plan your theatrical activities this year than with TLC Creative FREE Downloadable 2007 Calendar?

The calendar features spoof adverts for fairytale and pantomime products and services (such as Three Pigs Construction, Panto Direct Injury Claims specialists and Heroes ‘R Us).

- Supplied as a .PDF file (approx 3mb).
- A full colour page for each month of the year.
- A4 and USA4 (for those transatlantic thesps) versions available.
- Contains an editable field to allow you to customise the calendar with your own group's name before printing
- FREE to download (not to be resold!).

Download yours at http://www.tlc-creative.co.uk/

Teams Wanted For The Wakefield Drama Festival

Two more teams required for the full length drama festival at Wakefield Theatre Royal, a 500 seater Matcham Theatre. The festival runs from Sunday 27 May to Saturday 2 June. 50% of net income is shared between the competing teams. For details e-mail Paul.Haley@Leeds.Gov.UK. The closing date is Friday 5th January 2007.

Looking For A Play?

You don't have to buy plays and playsets direct from the Publishers, you can always borrow from a library. But how do you know where a play is? Well, Worldcat is the world's largest network of library content and services, and it enables you to search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. It's a very useful site.