The Marlborough Players were delighted with the success of their latest production “Ladies’ Day” by Amanda Whittington, which was performed, after a two-year hiatus, in the Town Hall at the end of November.
Running for three nights it was the Players first “live” performance since June 2019 and there was some trepidation as to whether audiences would be comfortable in returning to a live event. However, they need not have feared, as Tony Michael, Chair of The Marlborough Players and Director of “Ladies’ Day” explained: “We were a little anxious initially as to whether or not our audiences would return but as soon as tickets went on sale, we had a steady flow of people purchasing them. In the week before curtain-up the sales really took off and every night we even sold several tickets on the door. In the end we had nearly 300 people who came to see the show which was fantastic!”
Tony went on to thank the Town for their support: “We really could not have put on this production without the support from the Town. The White Horse Bookshop were amazing handling ticket sales, the Town Hall as always were incredibly accommodating, we had some great support from the Prospect Hospice and of course all the wonderful actors, backstage crew and the committee who worked tirelessly to ensure the show was a success.”
He continued “Staging Ladies’ Day had its challenges: holding auditions with face masks was a first, as were the initial socially distanced rehearsals. However, the dedicated cast and crew soldiered on, and we were delighted with the response from the audiences who laughed, and even occasionally shed a tear, and made all the hard work totally worth it.”
The Marlborough Players were also delighted to be able to donate £195 to the Prospect Hospice from the sale of their programmes.
So what next?
The Players are looking into the possibility of an outdoor production next summer and hopefully another audience-pleasing performance at the Town Hall in the autumn. In the meantime, they are always pleased to hear from anyone who might be interested in joining, details of which can be found at www.marlboroughplayers.co.uk
In praise of yarn bombers – letter from David Sherratt
