Estuary Players was formed in Topsham in 1977, initially to perform Murder in the Cathedral in the parish church.
That first group of players formed the nucleus of the new company, which went on to present an average of two plays a year in the Matthews Hall, although occasionally elsewhere. Classics have mixed with modern writing, and there has been a distinct strand of new work written by members throughout the company's life.
We are managed in the usual way, through a small committee whose membership usually changes by about 25% each year, and there is no hierarchy around roles - every job is as important as the next, and indeed as indispensible as the next. What are we good at? Probably not for us to say ourselves, but you could ask our loyal audiences, who have got used to seeing everything from Whitehall farce to expressionist drama, and who ensure that we are financially stable, and capable of taking some chances from time to time, or staging something a bit more expensive.
Always Room for Improvement....
Like many community companies we lack good facilities for the storage of scenery, so we usually go for minimalist staging, augmented by good lighting - not that that should be a bar to good theatre. We are also keen to recruit new and younger members who could add strength to our design, props, lighting and costume operations.
If you have checked out our past productions list, you will see that being eclectic doesn't mean you have to include banality, or so-called box office certainties. (cut to) We are proud of a recent playbill which includes Shakespeare, Greek tragedy , music hall, German political opera and, a recent trend, gritty Northern comic dramas, along with a strand of member-written shows about local events and history. Come and see our next show, and join us for the Next Stage....
