45 years of The Hampstead Players – An Anniversary on Zoom
Wednesday 9th June 2021 at 7.30pm
Yes, it’s 45 years since the Vicar of the time, Graham Dowell, his wife Sue and others founded The Hampstead Players/Friends of the Drama in 1976 “to promote the mission of the Church” through drama, the music of the church being very well represented by the Friends of the Music and our top-notch choir led then by Martindale Sidwell.
45 Years. I’ve been a Member for 40 of them, but it’s wonderful that we still have the important contribution of some from those earliest years, Judy East, John & Maggie Willmer, and Bill & Christine Risebero. Over the years we’ve had some professional input from Ian East, Bill Fry and Harry Meacher. We’ve also had significant contributions from those who believed that amateurs could indeed produce “drama to a high standard”, such as Pat Gardner and John Hester. And there have been some who “graduated” from The Players to be notable professionals, John Risebero and Ben Horslen with their company Antic Disposition, Matthew Parker (Matthew Stevens when with us) and Howard Hudson. Do Google their work!
We’ve performed in Church, in the Crypt Room, and in the Churchyard, but also ventured out to other churches, to Pimlico, to Ealing, to Winchester… and to South West France, where we took seven Shakespeare productions between 2001 and 2010.
And of course after our record-breaking The Sound of Music in Autumn 2019 it’s been lockdown, but we have still kept going with Zoom play and poetry readings; also meetings where a continuing bright future is envisaged, starting with a new outdoor production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1st to 3rd July).
We have performed a varied selection of plays over the years, many memorable, including Arcadia in 2005 and The Cherry Orchard in 2013 – do look at our website www.hampsteadplayers.org.uk. I remember those that had a real resonance in our beautiful Hampstead Parish Church: the two Murder in the Cathedral productions of 1990 and 2008, David Hare’s Racing Demon in 1997, and the Millennium Interregnum year 2000 production of Inherit the Wind. This last play had a cast of 22, including our new Churchwarden Sheena Ginnings, and a production team of 13… and all but three were members of Hampstead Parish Church.
So, on Wednesday 9th June, we shall be looking back over the years and remembering those men and women who supported us, and there shall be some pieces from those years performed by Players from our first ever Chair John Willmer to our current Chair Matthew Williams. We shall remember Graham Dowell and all the Vicars since who have supported us – Philip Buckler, Stephen Tucker and Jeremy Fletcher… and Father Stephen will be joining us for a favourite party piece of his and “to raise a glass to the Players”.