This page is where you can keep up to date with all the latest news about the Tudor Players, including details of all forthcoming productions.

Future Dates (Posted 16/12/09)

Next production (Posted 25/02/10)

Our next production will be RolePlay by Alan Ayckbourn

The third of the Damsels in Distress trilogy finds Justin and Julie-Ann, both in computers and hopelessly mis-matched in love, about to introduce their respective parents to each other over dinner - Justin's upper crust alcoholic mother from Surrey and Julie-Ann's bigoted Yorkshire father and prim mother. Into this doomed scenario drops, literally, via the balcony upstairs and the river, Paige Petite, a former lap-dancer with suicidal tendencies and her thick, gun-toting minder who is employed by her violent boyfriend. They proceed to wreck havoc on the meticulously planned evening but the brilliantly orchestrated mayhem is tempered by subtle insights into the family relationships and class distinctions.

Tickets.

Brian Parker (Posted 14/02/07)

Many of you will be aware that Tudor Players' president, Brian Parker, died on the 1st January 2007 at the age of seventy-four.

Read more - a tribute to Brian

Awards (Posted 26/09/04)

Last year was very successful. In addition to the One-Act Play Festival we were also successful in the SADATA Awards presented in February. In particular we won the Dimberline Trophy for the second successive year. This is presented for the best average marks over a minimum of three plays in a season. The three plays were "Habeas Corpus", "On Golden Pond" and "Night Watch". The Dimberline is the most coveted award because it shows consistency. In addition "On Golden Pond" won the Best Drama Award for 2003 and also the best ensemble-acting award.

One-Act Play Festival (Posted 01/07/04)

June saw the Once-Act Play Festival and it was great to have the Festival back after the cancellation in 2003. Tudor entered "Somthing Unspoken" by Tennessee Williams. This is a two hander and featured Edwina Gascoyne and Andrea Howard and it was directed by Tony Webb. Tennessee Williams plays are very intense and this was no exception. The acting was very good and the setting was outstanding. Tony worked very hard on this production both in the directing and the setting and deserved the third place the play received in the Open section of the competition.

Tudor up and running for 2004 (Posted 01/12/03)

Tudor have already started rehearsing for our February 2004 production and amazingly we have chosen plays for May and October 2004.

February's production is "Caught in the Net" by Ray Cooney. This is a sequel to a previous Cooney farce, which we have performed, namely "Run for your Wife". It features John Smith, a common or garden London taxi driver and his wife and family in Wimbledon. Not to mention his other wife and family in Streatham. Nor to mention his lodger or the lodger's senile father.

He has a child to each wife and by chance they "meet" in a chat-room on the net and... Well, it all gets a bit complicated and Cooneyish thereafter. Suffice it to say, it is a well-structured Ray Cooney farce and just the thing to wipe out the winter blues. Please feel free to tell all your friends.

The production is on from the 10th-14th February 2004, at the Library Theatre. The director is Peter Howard.

In May 2004 we shall be doing "Brassed Off".

The film you will know (Pete Posslethwaite was brilliant). The play at the Lyceum you might have seen. The play performed by amateurs in Sheffield - not a chance.

You need a large cast on a small stage and you need a real live genuine brass band, that can do all the music you saw in the film. Nobody in their right mind would attempt it in the amateur theatre, so we asked Phil Gascoyne if he would direct "Brassed Off" in May 2004 and he said "yes".

P.S. Phil is wanting certain key members of the cast to start learning brass instruments now.
(You think I'm joking!)

In October, we will be performing "The Cemetery Club" which is a beautiful, warm, witty and very funny comedy about three Jewish American widows.

When selling tickets you will be told - "we don't like American plays"; "we don't do Jewish"; "we don't like plays about death". I don't care - this is a lovely play and people will feel better for having seen it - so tell them!