All Aboard! as we follow our railway family, their lives and loves, through the hundred years of the Waveney Valley Line's existence. As navvy, porter, booking clerk, station master, railway families kept the trains running through two world wars and right to the end of the line. Meet the many colourful characters who made such a great contribution to life in Harleston and along the Waveney Valley.
Performances in a large tent at Harleston Magpies Hockey Club (IP21 5UF) from Friday 10th to Saturday 18th July. Tickets, priced £12, available online and from Robinson's Traditional Stationers, Harleston. A free bus service from the bus stop in Broad Street to the hockey club is available for the matinee performances (12th and 18th July) only.
January 2026
Directed by David Cumming
When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on his estate, with a look of terror still etched on his face, and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body, the great detective Sherlock Holmes is summoned from Baker Street with Dr Watson in tow…
Packed full of verbal and visual ingenuity this version offers abundant opportunities for riotous comedy and slapstick. With 14 characters played by 6 actors, The Hound of the Baskervilles is played fast and with little reverence.
Adapted for the stage by Stephen Briggs
Directed by Dawn Briggs
The de Magpyrs are the sort of vampires that would have Count Dracula spinning in his grave: modern, forward-looking and no longer afraid of holy water, garlic, religious symbols or, indeed, of anything else. This makes them very, very dangerous. Luckily for the Discworld, the three Lancre witches are on hand – and the battle is on!
By Melanie Marnich
Directed by Eileen Ryan
Based on the true story of a group of female workers who, in the 1920s and 30s, suffered radium poisoning from painting the luminous watch dials for the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois. Marnich’s play focuses on the close relationship which develops between the four women as they support each other through illness and their long fight to take the company to court. The story is honest and uncompromising, but the women’s resilience is inspiring, with plenty of warmth and humour.
Harleston Players are very excited to announce that the Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society will be returning in January 2025 with their production of A Christmas Carol.
In a festive mood, the ladies of the society, ably assisted by their stage manager Gordon, mount an assault on this classic Dickensian favourite. Enthusiastically portraying a dizzying array of characters, the ladies bravely contend with an intrusive PA system and perform two original, show-stopping songs.
Performances: Fri 24th, Sat 25th, Fri 31st January and Sat 1st February.
By Jimmy Perry and David Croft
The classic comedy of the Home Guard who battle daily against the Germans and local ARP Warden Hodges, comes to the stage complete with all the well-loved characters: “Stupid boy” Pike, “Don’t panic, don’t panic” Jonesey, “Doomed, we’re all doomed!” Fraser, “May I be excused, sir?” Godfrey, and all under the command of the redoubtable Captain Mainwaring and his self-effacing deputy, Sergeant Wilson.
The show comprises four episodes, Mum’s Army, The Deadly Attachment, The Godiva Affair and The Floral Dance, with performances on 25,26,31 October and 1,2 November.
Written and directed by Eileen Ryan
Summer, 1942. The U.S. has entered World War II, and the first American aircrews arrive in the east of England. Along with their heavy bombers, the GIs bring cola and chewing gum, jukeboxes, jazz and the jitterbug. East Anglia will never be the same again.
80 years on, a reunion weekend at one of the airfields brings together a group of visitors, whose memories of a local girl and an American airman recreate their bitter-sweet wartime romance.
Harleston Players are teaming up with Metfield-based singing group, Station 366, plus swing dancers from the Red Feather Club at Horham airbase museum, to create Friendly Invasion - a show about the arrival of the USAAF to this area and the ways in which the presence of thousands of Americans influenced life in the region.
Fri. 12th July, Harleston Sancroft Academy.
Sat. 13th July, Red Feather Club, Horham.
Thurs. 18th July, Diss Corn Hall.
Fri. 19th July, Fisher Theatre, Bungay.
Mon. 22nd July, Beccles Public Hall.
Wed. 24th July, Old Buckenham Village Hall.
Sat. 27th July, The Cut, Halesworth.
All performances at 7.30pm. Tickets on sale from June.
Directed by Mary Frendo
Written by Phil Willmott and based on the 1940’s BBC radio serial, Dick Barton faces new and hilarious stage adventures.
When Britain’s entire tea supply is threatened to be poisoned, he soon finds himself wrapped up in an adventure soaked with intrigue and mystery. Along with faithful companions Jock and Snowy, he faces off against arch enemies Marta Heartburn and Baron Scarheart, battles with killer ants, all the while finding time to sing a few songs along the way – and of course, saves the day!
Performances from April 19th - 27th 2024
Friday 19th April - Harleston Sancroft Academy, 7.30pm
Saturday 20th - Harleston Sancroft Academy, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Tuesday 23rd - The Cut, Halesworth, 7.30pm
Wednesday 24th - Wingfield Barns, 7.30pm
Thursday 25th - Fisher Theatre, Bungay, 7.30pm
Friday 26th - Harleston Sancroft Academy, 7.30pm
Saturday 27th - Harleston Sancroft Academy, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
By John Masefield, adapted for the stage by Piers Torday
January/February 2024
Directed by David Cumming
Kay Harker is heading home for the school holidays. Recently orphaned, he knows this Christmas will be different, but nothing could prepare him for the journey that lies ahead.
On the train he meets an old magician, Cole Hawlings, who charges Kay with safeguarding a wonderous device that has time-travelling powers. It’s an instrument that Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown, will stop at nothing to steal. And so when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life. He must protect both the Box of Delights and, with it, the people he loves.
The Box of Delights’ timeless appeal is its genre-busting combination of classic children’s adventure – ancient folkloric magic, Christmas feasts and talking animals – with bang up-to-date thrills: criminal gangs, cars that turn into aeroplanes and, of course, teleportation.
Directed by Peter Sowerbutts
Fed-up with spring cleaning, Mole decides to explore the riverbank and meets Ratty. The two set off together and soon come across the irrepressible Toad, owner of Toad Hall. Adventures ensue, as Toad’s love for the latest thing encompasses cars and caravans and even puts him in prison. But when Toad Hall is taken over by the wicked creatures from the Wild Wood, the band of friends must rise to their greatest exploit yet.
Adapted from The Wind in the Willows in 1929 by A.A. Milne, Toad of Toad Hall was an instant hit. It became a staple Christmas production in the West End, put on annually for much of the 1930s through to the 1970s. Many adaptations followed, but the charm of this first script has never really been surpassed.
Performances at Harleston Sancroft Academy:
Friday 20 October 7.30pm
Saturday 21 October 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Friday 27 October 7.30pm
Saturday 28 October 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Tickets £12 evenings, £10 adult/£5 child (under 16) for the matinees, available from Monday 18 September in person at Robinson’s Traditional Stationers, Harleston or online from www.harlestonplayers.co.uk/ticketsource
Leonard Vole stands accused of murdering a rich widow. The stakes are high with shocking witness testimony, impassioned outbursts from the dock and a young man’s fight to escape the hangman’s noose. Regarded as one of Christie’s most accomplished plays, this suspenseful thriller keeps audiences guessing until the very end.
Performances in Harleston, and at the Fisher Theatre, Bungay and The Cut, Halesworth. 21st – 29th April 2023.
Directed by David Cumming
Written and directed by Josie Grimble
Aladdin, a street rat with a heart of gold, lives with his mother and brother in a run-down tailor’s shop. But his life changes forever when he finds a lamp containing a genie, called Jeanie, who falls in love with our hero. Naturally, the course of true love never runs smooth, for Aladdin is already in love with the beautiful Princess Badia. Will Aladdin save Badia from a loveless marriage? Or will Jeanie steal his heart instead? A brilliant new version of the classic tale with plenty of unexpected twists!
Performances: 27th & 28th January and 3rd & 4th February 2023, Archbishop Sancroft High School
Directed by Cathy Edwards-Gill
October 2022
It is 1935, and the wonderfully eccentric Durrell family – four siblings, their widowed mother and Roger the dog, arrive on the sun-soaked shores of Corfu to start a new life.
For eleven year-old Gerry it is the perfect playground, and its exotic fauna inspires a lifelong fascination with the animal kingdom. Add into the mix his eccentric family and a colourful cast of Greek peasants, hapless tutors, lugubrious servants, pretentious artists, and romantic suitors, and the scene is set for a production that sparkles with life and fun.
Directed by Lucy Hammond
April 2022
Madame Arcati, a local clairvoyant, accepts an invitation to the home of Charles (a writer) and Ruth Condomine for dinner and to hold a séance. Their friends, the Bradmans, are also invited. Unbeknown to Madame Arcati, Charles has an ulterior motive in that he has writer’s block and is hoping to use the experience of watching her in action to help progress his latest book. However, the evening does not go as he had hoped, with the spirit of his attractive first wife, Elvira, accidentally being summoned up, which naturally does not go down too well with Ruth and events begin to spiral.
Directed by Paul Baker
January/February 2022
Set in 1947, just after the Second World War, the comedy revolves around the headmaster of a boys' boarding school receiving word that he must share his campus with the evacuated pupils and staff of another school. He is horrified, however, when the new arrivals turn out to be from a girls' school led by an indomitable headmistress. Matters get even worse when demanding parents from both schools turn up to check on their precious little darlings! As outright hostilities threaten between the two schools, what could possibly unite them?
Directed by Sara Curtis
October 2021
Retired photojournalist Diana Trent finds herself in Bayview Retirement Home and is pretty damn angry about it - as she is about virtually everything. Suffering fools not at all and with a nifty line in putdowns, she despises anyone who believes her useless because she's old. Chiefly among those are shiftless Harvey Baines, manager of the care home to whom his ageing charges are merely things he wishes would just die and save on the bills, and his intellectually challenged sidekick Jane, who insists on trying to touch him.
The only person she does have time for is Tom, a nice but somewhat otherworldly older gentleman placed in the home by his alcoholic daughter-in-law and drippy son. Diana regards Bayview very much as a place to undermine, and proceeds to do so, with Tom cheerily helping her along the way.
Directed by Eileen Ryan
July 2021
After a year's delay, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this new play was performed outdoors on Harleston Recreation Ground in July 2021.
Members of Harleston Players were joined by children and adults from the town and surrounding area to bring to life the fascinating story of how two brothers from Harleston became some of the first English settlers in America. The script, based on detailed historical research, was written by Eileen Ryan and directed by her, with David Cumming as producer.
It was a family show with music, dancing and singing, and depicting the diverse group who sailed on the Mayflower – adults and children, profiteers and pilgrims – and the native Americans they encountered on their arrival.
Sarah Meers, eastern area representative of NODA, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, wrote of the production:
Each individual who took a character part portrayed their role to perfection. It is impossible to pick out a performance in such an excellent production... The enthusiastic children behaved professionally at all times and added that little bit of detail essential to the narrative. The whole presentation of the costumes was good. The diction was clear, and considering the performance was outside, this was particularly remarkable and I heard every single word. The story flowed which made it easy to understand the plot. The musicians/singers blended into the aura of the time effectively. The impressive structure of the boat cleverly portrayed the journey across the Atlantic and was beautifully constructed. The furniture and props were minimalistic giving a true glimpse into pilgrim life. I loved the way the moving of the boxes was an integral part of the story. The representation of “death” with “a suitcase” was superb.
To find out more read here...
For more information about the historical research into Harleston's links with the Mayflower, life in the town in the early 17th century and the wider community heritage project read here...
Directed by Joe Edwards-Gill
January 2020
Ever since Peter Pan first flew in through Wendy Darling's nursery window and took her off to Never Land, Barrie's classic adventure story has thrilled and delighted theatre-goers. We're proud to say that our production, directed by Joe Edwards-Gill, kept up that tradition, attracting high praise from our audiences.
Here's what Robert Halliday thought:
Saw Peter Pan on Friday night: thought it was absolutely fantastic. Was thoroughly gripped throughout. J M Barrie's play is incredibly ambitious, and should probably be difficult for a well funded professional company to stage: after all a lot of the cast have to fly through the air persistently and repeatedly, and much of the action takes place in an utterly fantastical 'Neverland'. Harleston Players thus made a really, incredibly good task of getting Peter, Wendy, Michael and John to fly. The recreation of Neverland was quite compelling. All the cast, especially the younger actors, played their roles with incredible commitment. The last five minutes was so emotional that it made me cry. So thank you to Harleston Players for a brilliant night out watching Peter Pan!
Directed by David Cumming
October 2019
1896. Girton College, Cambridge, the first college in Britain to admit women. The Girton girls study ferociously and match their male peers grade for grade. Yet, when the men graduate, the women leave with nothing but the stigma of being a ‘blue stocking’ - an unnatural, educated women. They are denied degrees and go home unqualified and unmarriageable.
In Jessica Swale’s debut play, Blue Stockings, Tess Moffat and her fellow first years are determined to win the right to graduate. But little do they anticipate the hurdles in their way: the distractions of love, the cruelty of the class divide or the strength of the opposition, who will do anything to stop them. The play follows them over one tumultuous academic year, in their fight to change the future of education.
‘Love or knowledge: which would you chose?’
Directed by Sara Curtis
April 2019
After squandering their fortunes on food, drink and gambling, Tom Aimwell and Jack Archer, two London ‘beaux’ (gentlemen), seek refuge and rich wives in the country.
The Beaux’ Stratagem finds them down to their last few pounds in the village of Lichfield in Staffordshire. Here, their stratagem for seducing ladies of stature and wealth – and returning as quickly as possible to London, of course – runs a-foul of true love and a colourful collection of rogues, thieves, dunces and strong women who give as good as they get.
Review by David Vass:
"The Harleston Players’ witty dramatization of Anthony Hope’s nineteenth century novel must be their most ambitious production to date, crammed as it was with creative flourishes, strong lead performances, and a huge supporting cast.
Writer and director Eileen Ryan has adapted Hope’s swashbuckling novel with a lightness of touch that deftly avoids the pitfalls of parody, but is nonetheless sufficiently self-aware to steer clear of the grander absurdities of the source material. Sitting somewhere between drama and musical, and with a fair share of whimsy, this was close in tone to Alan Bennett’s Wind in the Willows. Grant Filshil is just the sort of commanding character actor needed to carry the lead role, while Simon Evans – best known for unctuous villainy - showed he can play characters with backbone. It was also good to see youngster Will Woodrow given the chance to play such a substantial role, while a whole host of supporting players did their bit to bring the action to life.
Cleverly staged so that the action felt immediate, yet intimate, and packed with invisible swords, imaginary horses, water-filled moats, tree-lined forests, coronations and kings, this was hard-working community theatre at its most inventive and heartfelt."
Throughout the ages, men of finesse, intelligence and courage have played their part in England's glorious heritage. Others, like the long line of deceitful, cowardly and conniving Blackadders, have somehow emerged to claim their wrongful position in history.
This is the WWI story of how, destined to have fortune vomit on his eiderdown and to be forever shackled with a Baldrick (the descendent of an unfortunate meeting between a pig-farmer and a bearded lady), Blackadder faced down the slings and arrows of life.... and got very badly hurt indeed.
Playing to large and enthusiastic audiences, Blackadder Goes Forth was a spectacular success. Director Dawn Briggs marshalled a very strong cast and backstage crew to present four episodes from the TV series, concluding with the poignant 'Goodbyee'.
Comments on facebook include this from Rachel Cook: "Opening night was just Brilliantly funny! A real treat to watch. A fitting tribute to 100 years....wait for the poppies! All of it a must see!"
Written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, and directed by Steve Askew, with music by Eileen Ryan, A Bunch of Amateurs tells the story of fading Hollywood action hero Jefferson Steel (played by Roy Goodwin), who arrives in England to play King Lear in Stratford – only to find that this is not the birthplace of the Bard, but a sleepy Suffolk village. And instead of Kenneth Branagh and Dame Judi Dench, the cast are a bunch of amateurs trying to save their theatre from developers.
Featuring a very strong cast, including Grant Filshill, Roz Morgan, Barry Givens, Sara Curtis and Juliet Lloyd, and newcomer to Harleston Players Amelie Geddis, the production was a great success, much enjoyed by enthusiastic audiences. Comments on facebook included: “Really enjoyed the show. Great Fun. Congratulations to all involved!” and “Saw this last weekend; it was brilliant!”
Adapted from the Jules Verne book by local playwright Eileen Ryan, the play tells the story of Phileas Fogg and his crazy bet to travel around the world in just 80 days.
Breaking the orderly routine of his daily life, the coolheaded Englishman and his hot-blooded French manservant Passepartout immediately set off for Dover. They must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks and Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard – who believes Fogg has robbed the Bank of England – to win this extraordinary wager. In a race against time, Phileas Fogg can’t afford to lose his cool.
“This will be a fast paced, exciting show, girdling the world, crossing continents, travelling by train, steamship, sailing boat, sledge and even elephant,” says the director, David Cumming. Performances are on January 26th and 27th and February 2nd and 3rd at Archbishop Sancroft High School. Tickets, priced £9 (£7 concessions) are on sale at Harleston Pet Stores or by phoning 01379 852845.
Directed by Dawn Briggs, and starring Sara Curtis and Roz Morgan as Julia and Jane, the Fallen Angels, this lesser known Noël Coward play went down very well with audiences.
Feedback from audience members included:
"It was brilliant. I have heard it’s really hard to play drunk when you are not. Those ladies pulled it off fantastically." Cornelia Oberhoffer
"I went last night and got a ticket on the door. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was superb, really funny and amazingly professional. I will definitely be coming to more of your productions. 😀" Michelle
"Well done to all involved in tonight's show. A difficult and lesser known Coward, well performed and set with good direction."
"Fabulous performances - brilliantly funny, thoroughly enjoyed."
"Blooming hilarious - always a good night out."
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March/April 2017
Directed by Sara Curtis
Sara and her cast did an amazing job with Graham Linehan's Ealing comedy, with unforgettable characters and a spectacular set.
Audience reaction was great too.
"We're just home from watching The Ladykillers & have had a fantastic evening. It was a great storyline, very funny throughout & brilliant acting. The set design was very clever showing the upstairs, downstairs, roof tops & train line. Congratulations and thank you to all involved for a brilliant production." Clare Prest
"Absolutely Brilliant.....Well done all
Great evening watching Ladykillers ......if you haven't seen it yet get yourselves a ticket x
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
👍👍👍" Maria Tyler
October 2016
Directed by Joe Edwards
In October 2016, Harleston Players brought to the stage Lionel Bart’s fantastic musical 'Oliver!', which played to sell-out audiences and received some wonderful feedback:
"Just home from watching your Oliver production! Wow, what a show, loved it from start to finish! Some excellent directing, scene changes worked so well and the cast were outstanding. Beautiful voices from Oliver and Nancy, backed by a strong chorus, loved Fagin and the evil Sykes, the comedy of Mr Bumble and Widow Corney's 'I Shall Scream' was wonderful.... but the one who stole my heart was the gin drinking young lass in Fagin's gang! Great humour and singing throughout, thanks for a lovely evening's entertainment..... and glad to see the knife grinder cart being used again! 
😆
I look forward to your next show."
Jo Cooper, Thetford Players Chair
"Just to share some feedback with you which I received after the show yesterday. Everyone in town is buzzing about Oliver. Thank you for letting us be a part of it & making us feel so welcome."
Claire Prest
October 2015
Directed by Bazil Leith
At Heartwood House, Whitby, young Lucy Westerman is plagued by nightmares and grows paler everyday. Her sister Mina, soon to be married, is also troubled by dark premonitions and urges her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, not to travel abroad to visit his aristocratic new client, Count Dracula. And so the stage is set for a night of classic horror in a chilling adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel by the acclaimed poet and playwright Liz Lochhead.
January/February 2016
Directed by Meryl Raines
When young Jim Hawkins is left a treasure map by the dying buccaneer Billy Bones, he sets sail on the Hispaniola in search of the island. Among the crew, the one-legged Long John Silver becomes his greatest friend, but Silver has a shocking secret in store, and when they reach their destination, Jim faces danger and adventure greater than he could ever have imagined. In this adaptation of the classic tale, written in 2007, Stuart Paterson has kept close to Stevenson’s original novel, resulting in a fresh and thrilling play both to watch and perform.
April 2016
Directed by Joe Edwards
Hollywood, 1939: film producer David O. Selznick has just five days to produce a script for the most eagerly anticipated movie in history - Gone with the Wind. Engaging the reluctant services of ace script doctor Ben Hecht - possibly the only person in America who has not read the novel - and the movie's new director Victor Fleming, and with nothing but a stockpile of peanuts and bananas to sustain them, Selznick locks himself in his office with his two collaborators, and a marathon creative session begins.
Directed by Joe Edwards and featuring a brilliant cast (Barry Givens, Steve Askew, Roy Goodwin and Dawn Symonds), Moonlight and Magnolias is a frenetic, fast-paced comedy based on true events that is guaranteed to provide a hugely entertaining night out.
March 2003
Directed by Yves Green
A superb Polly Teale adaptation of the classic - Jane Eyre is poor, plain and unloved. But locked up in the attic of her imagination lives a woman so passionate and so full of longing she must be guarded night and day for fear of the havoc she would wreak. Who is this woman who threatens to destroy Jane's orderly world? A world where Jane has, for the first time, fallen in love. This production won a 'best play award' from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).
October 2003
Directed by Cathy Gill
1999: at the dawn of a new millennium, Tom and Ellen discover a dark secret buried beneath their house. 1799: in the same house, the occupants eagerly anticipate the new century when the mysteries of life will be revealed by the light of science. Inspired by the painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, this intelligent and witty play - turns chilling and hilarious - explores the emotional detritus left behind in our search for 'progress'.
January 2004
Directed by David Cumming
This production won a 'best play award' from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA).
April 2004
Directed by David Green
The story of a young girl who finds her only source of joy, life and escape from her drunken mother in impersonating the songs and voices of all time greats. Her life is turned upside down when a cowboy manager to the stars discovers Little Voice and tries to make her the star she never wanted to be.
"A fine production, capable of moving and amusing the audience in equal measure" Stuart Charman, Diss Express. "The cast rose supremely to the challenge" Janet Chambers, East Anglian Daily Times.
October 2004
Directed by Sara Curtis
In Truvy's beauty salon, Louisiana, a close knit circle of friends gather to gossip. When tragedy strikes and M'Lynn's newly married daughter needs a kidney transplant they are faced with the harsh reality of life. But these southern belles soon learn that the power of their friendship and laughter is the one thing that helps them heal.
January 2005
Directed by Joyce Blane
A world premiere! Set in England during World War II. The Magic Candleshop tells the story of four children who discover a mysterious shop where lighting candles takes them on fantastic adventures through time and space. However, darkness lurks nearby, and soon the children are drawn onto the frontline in the age-old battle of Good versus Evil...
July 2005
Directed by David Cumming
This is one of the funniest of Shakespeare's romantic comedies, ideal for a summer's evening. Great entertainment with the riotous behaviour of Sir Toby Belch, cross-dressing of Viola, misplaced love, mistaken identity, pirates and plotters, enchanting music and songs and the fall of the pompous and self-loving steward Malvolio. This outdoor production toured The Ship, Dunwich; Besthorpe Hall near Attleborough; Thornham Walled Garden; Bateman's Barn; Norwich Cathedral and our 'home' outdoor venue at Starston.
October 2005
Directed by Roy Goodwin
Based in a Suffolk village, the play explores both the funny and dark sides of family life. Faced with the prospect of his daughter, dreary son-in-law and painful teenage granddaughter, visiting for the weekend, not to mention their poorly house trained dog, Stephen Febble reaches for the whisky and the sarcasm.
January/February 2006
Directed by David Cumming
Most fairy stories begin at the beginning, this one is a bit different. When the play opens we find Goody, a fairy in the forest. She has been waiting, hoping that one day a prince will come, a prince who will wake Sleeping Beauty, and thereby break a curse that she cast many years before.
June 2006
Directed by Cathy Gill
Harleston Players were awarded a grant of £24,000 to stage a local play, written by a contemporary of Shakespeare. Robert Greene was born in Norwich and his romantic comedy The Honourable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay is set in this very part of the Waveney valley. When the King's son falls for a dairymaid, the Fair Maid of Fressingfield, he enlists the help of his best friend, (disguised as a Beccles farmer) and the skills of the world's greatest magician, the infamous Friar Bacon, in order to win her. But things do not go according to plan... Packed with romance, broad comedy and miraculous magic, this was the first time this rumbustious play had been performed for several years.
October 2006
Directed by Emma Matthews
It's Friday night. It's disco night, time for Bouncers to come alive. In this adult, outrageous and hilarious parody of the 80's disco scene, four bouncers portraying over 20 different characters invite you for a night out on the town. You meet giggly girls, lads on the make, Hooray Henrys, punks and a smart-talking DJ all against the tatty, glitzy glamour, flashing lights and pulsating beat of the disco floor.
January/February 2007
Directed by Christine Harvey
An exciting adaptation of this well loved tale. The trials and tribulation of this hapless puppet, and his struggle to become a proper boy, are told in a musical play suitable for all the family. A lively, colourful production about how Pinocchio's nose grows and Gepetto lives inside the whale !
April 2007
Directed by Sara Curtis
This hilarious farce followed the antics of the four redoubtable ladies of The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild as they attempted to present Murder at Checkmate Manor. This ambiguous and cunning Agatha Christie-style 1930s drawing room murder mystery requires them to play all 14 roles (aided by their stage manager, Gordon) with hysterical results. As well as performing the play, the ladies also present a Film and Fashion Show and a Murder Mystery Quiz complete with prize! If it can go wrong it probably will..... but surely it will be all right on the night!
October 2007
Directed by Joan Huckle. Musical director, Stella Brownsea
Set in 1960s' New York, Sweet Charity is the poignant and funny story of Charity Hope Valentine who, despite her dead end job as a dance club hostess in the sleazy Fandango Night Club, is an incurable optimist. Her adventures and misadventures bring tears and laughter as we follow her quest for true love and a better life. For this much loved show, the large cast and band will be performing such wonderful Cy Coleman musical numbers as If My Friends Could See Me Now, The Rhythm of Life, I Love to Cry at Weddings and the showstopper Hey Big Spender.
January/February 2008
Directed by David Cumming
A magical, musical, family show based on Jonathan Swift's classic tale. This exciting adaptation was produced with an original script and music by Alan Huckle and David Black of EYESWRITE. Produced by Helen Farrar.
July 2008
Directed by Cathy Gill
Bassanio is broke. He asks his friend Antonio (the Merchant) to loan him the money so he can woo Portia, the heiress of Belmont. Antonio's money is all tied up in his merchant fleets, so Bassanio goes to Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, and Antonio says he will stand guarantor for the loan, confident that his ships will return long before the bond is forfeit. Shylock and Antonio are old enemies, however. The reasons are 1) a traditional Jewish/Christian distrust and enmity and 2) Shylock charges interest on his loans, a practise that was forbidden in Christian society. Shylock senses an opportunity for revenge, and suggests that instead of charging interest on the loan, this time he will ask only for a pound of Antonio's flesh if the money is not repaid on time. Antonio agrees to the Bond. Meanwhile Portia, in Belmont, receives various suitors. Before his death her father arranged that each suitor should choose one of three caskets of gold, silver and lead, one of which contains Portia's picture. He who chooses the right casket wins Portia's hand in marriage. Back in Venice, Shylock's daughter, Jessica, is planning to steal her father's money, and elope with Lorenzo, one of Bassanio's friends. She will also convert to Christianity In Act 3 Bassanio chooses between the caskets, but as soon as he has chosen news comes that Antonio's ships have all failed, that his Bond to Shylock is forfeit.....and that Shylock is unwavering in his pursuit of the pound of flesh...
October/November 2008
Directed by Yves Green
In the spring of 2003 the Players presented Jane Eyre, the first play in a trilogy devised and dramatised by Polly Teale, Associate Director for the extraordinary Shared Experience Theatre Company. Such was the creative experience of working on this type of physical and imaginative drama that I was delighted to be asked to direct Brontë, Teale's final work on this most famous literary family. 'How is it possible that three Victorian spinsters, living in isolation on the Yorkshire moors could have written some of the most powerful and passionate fiction of all time?' Brontë seeks to answer this question by dramatising, not only the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne but also their fictional characters, Jane Eyre, Bertha (the mad woman in the attic, seen by Teale as Charlotte/Jane's alter ego), Rochester, Cathy Earnshaw and her maid Nelly, Heathcliff, and Anne's creation, Arthur Huntington.
January/February 2009
Directed by Cathy Gill
It is wartime and Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are four children evacuated to the country house of an old professor. Whilst playing hide-and-seek, Lucy passes through the back of an old wardrobe, and discovers the magical land of Narnia, where the White Witch has seized power over the fauns and beavers and mythical creatures and has cast a spell making it always winter, but never Christmas. The children soon discover that they must seek out the magnificent lion Aslan, and together set out on their perilous quest to destroy the witch and her minions, and free Narnia from her icy spell.
May 2009
Directed by Sara Curtis
The original male version of The Odd Couple was a 1975 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series. The plot concerns two mismatched roommates, one neat and uptight and the other more easy going but slovenly. Felix Ungar (Jack Lemmon) a neurotic, neat freak newswriter, is thrown out by his wife and moves in with his friend Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau), a messy sportswriter. The Odd Couple was revised by Neil Simon in 1985 for a female cast...
October 2009
Directed by Emma Matthews
In a not-so-chic London bar called Shakers, we meet Carol, Adele, Nicky and Mel, four friends who have taken to waitressing in desperation but who also have wit and resilience enough to never let any of the colourful characters they come across escape their satire unscathed.
January/February 2010
Directed by David Cumming and Gill Hawkes
An exciting collection of tales from the Brothers Grimm, adapted by Carol Ann Duffy. The large cast have taken on the challenge of playing several characters in stories ranging in length from 5 to 20 minutes. Using a minimum of props, everyone has embraced each play with enthusiasm and hard work.
April/May 2010
Directed by Dawn Symonds
By Suzan L Zeder. Like the Da Vinci Code, our spring production, Do Not Go Gentle, contains a mystery in a picture or in this case, lots of pictures! Lillian's house is covered in bizarre murals and paintings. Thousands of eyes peer from the windows, and she's painted the walls with vivid scenes a playground shooting, a girl without a face, a Chinese dragon, to name just a few. Now Lillian is dead, can her family make sense of what she's done? As they gather to sort out her affairs, they are forced to question who their mother, aunt, and grandmother truly was. What do the pictures mean, that she couldn't say in words? Written by Suzan L Zeder, Do Not Go Gentle is a compelling piece of theatre. From the grievances, joys, disappointments and hopes of a 'normal' family, Zeder weaves a tale of self-discovery that is by turns shocking, intriguing and heart-warming.
October 2010
Directed by Cathy Gill
By Oliver Goldsmith. A comical farce full of disguises and practical jokes about a young girl who tries to gain a husband by disguising herself as a maid.
January 2011
Directed by Meryl Keeble
By Charles Dickens. Adapted by Karen Louise Hebden. Ebenezer Scrooge is a heartless old man who has no regard for his clerk Bob Cratchitt. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by three spirits who show him the error of his ways.
May 2011
Directed by Mike Davison
By Terry Pratchett. Adapted by Stephen Briggs. Agnes Nitt want to be an opera singer, so she joins the Ankh Morpork City Opera House. But there is a ghost who has murderous intentions and it is up to Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg to help Agnes solve the mystery.
October 2011
Directed by Sara Curtis
Based on the popular BBC sitcom written by the original writers Jeremy Lloyd and the late David Croft. Set in early WW2 in the little town of Nouvien, France, Rene Artois is the accidental hero who is hiding British Airmen for Michelle of the Resistance and the painting of 'The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies' by van Klomp for the occupying Germans. On top of this he is trying to hide his affairs with his waitresses (Mimi and Yvette) from his wife Edith. Much fun and farce is to be had with this production and features many of your favourite characters and catchphrases.
May 2012
October 2012
January 2013
May 2013
October /November 2013
Directed by Joan Huckle. Musical direction by Pamela Vinten-Phipps
Based on the true events of the 1888 Ripper Murders, Jack the Ripper allows the citizens of Whitechapel to tell their story and speculate on the identity of the killer in their midst. Could the local 'psalm-singing do-gooder' have a darker side? Might a woman be behind the killings? Or does the Ripper have blue-blooded connections?
January/February 2015
Directed by Mike Davison
New York, 1929. A war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan, who is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded 'splurge gun'. As the custard pies start to fly, can all-round nice guy Bugsy Malone stay one step ahead of trouble, avoid the clutches of the seductive songstress Tallulah, and win the heart of Blousey Brown?
October 2014
Directed by Dawn Symonds
Harleston Players will be presenting four episodes of Blackadder II, the Tudor Years. See Edmund, Baldrick, Percy, Queenie and Melchett as they meet Bob and Flashheart (woof) in 'Bells', Sir Rather-a-Wally Raleigh and Captain Redbeard Rum (aaaaarrrgh, you have a woman's hand my lord) in 'Potato', the baby-eating Bishop of Bath and Wells in 'Money' and the puritanical Lord and Lady Whiteadder eating a raw turnip in 'Beer'.
January/February 2014
Directed by Cathy Gill
Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis have their lives turned upside down when their father is mysteriously called away, and their mother moves them to Oakworth, Yorkshire. There, they discover the trains and the railway that can bring new friends and marvellous adventures to make a summer they'll never forget.
April/May 2015
Directed by David Cumming
Inspired by the true wartime history of the Osiris Players, Imogen Stubbs’s sparkling comedy follows the adventures of a small group of women who come together to form a 'girls only' theatre company to take the plays of Shakespeare around a culture-starved Britain.
While the men are fighting Hitler and the bombs are blitzing London, these hopelessly mismatched women from wildly different social backgrounds embark on a hilarious and crazy adventure, crammed into their battered 1920s Rolls Royce. Together and separately they are forced to discover what life is like without men, and, eventually, how they must survive when they have only each other.