The Valley Players were formed by Jim and Pauline Leslie in March 1965 in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. Jim and Pauline worked tirelessly with a group of volunteers to raise funds to ensure that the new Community Centre being built on Elsdon Avenue in the town would include a stage and dressing room. The first play was a comedy, Beside the Seaside, and one member recalled how he only found out he was in the cast when he returned from honeymoon that summer – and then he and his new wife played an estranged couple!

The play was performed in September of that year and Jim was crafty enough to ensure that the production coincided with the opening of the Centre itself, guaranteeing a packed house. The Valley Players were launched, and they have been entertaining loyal and enthusiastic audiences in the Community Centre ever since.

The Valley Players perform three plays a year, in January, April, and October, with a repertoire that includes popular comedies, farces and dramas, and classic costume plays. They are celebrating their fortieth anniversary in 2005 with a production in April of Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw, and their next offering will be the cricketing comedy, Outside Edge by Richard Harris.

The group always welcomes any enquiries from prospective members of any age - the youngest member is 16, and the oldest 83. Seaton Delaval is within easy reach from anywhere in the South East Northumberland, Newcastle or North Tyneside areas.

Why not have a look at the Valley Players website which has an extensive archive of over 200 photographs from previous productions? The group can be contacted at any time by email.