Thursday 9 December 2010

YEAR END 2010

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all Bridgnorth Players
Bring your brightest and best ideas for activities and plays in 2011 to our January meeting.

December social

At last it is beginning to thaw outside. I was fearful yesterday that the cold weather would put members off our annual end of year bash, but we had a packed house and stashes of food, not to mention drink. Again, thanks everyone for turning up and for all the goodies. Still chuckling over the post-grub entertainment - especially loved Sally's rendition of "Be kind to your turkey at Christmas".
Some interesting ideas came up for Bridgnorth Players' contribution to the Mayor's concert on Saturday 26th March, also for a full length play in June as part of the Literature Festival. We'll need to discuss and finalise the former at our monthly meeting on Jan 5th and the latter at our Feb meeting, so, fellow members, come prepared to present ideas at the both meetings.

Theatrical Winterval

Little did we think when Steve Downs suggested a collaboration between Whalebone and Bridgnorth Players that it would turn out so well, be so enjoyable and take such a lot of organising! Surely a few dramas, each with their own team of actors, director and helpers would relieve us of needing a stage manager or much overall planning. Liz Fisher quickly spotted the holes in this arrangement and offered to stage manage and co-ordinate the disparate bits of the production.
We played to good audiences in Bridgnorth, Highley and Chelmarsh, doling out cheer, mulled wine and mince pies. The blend of Whalebone's atmospheric music and the Players playlets worked well. The Christmas theme was represented by a Joyce Grenfell monolgue and Liz Herdson's nativity play based on the anecdotes of Gervaise Phinn. Linda Povey wrote "Ghost Walk" and Dylan Thomas poem of carol singing was performed by Liz Fisher. An updated version of the 1904 "Monkeys Paw" was counterbalanced by a delightful portayal of the relationship between lady and butler in "Dinner for One" and Tom Wentworth concluded with more Partridges in Pear Trees than he could cope with. Whalebone brought the evening to an end with their arrangement of the Pogues "Fairytale in New York".
I hope we have a chance to play with Whalebone again. Thanks to everyone who contributed.