The Caucasian Chalk Circle, 2024
A play of moral intrigue and high drama, by Bertolt Brecht. Blewbury Players welcomed audiences to their 48th summer production at Orchard Dene Garden Theatre from 17-20 July, 2024. With 24 plus actors (aged 7 to 80+) playing 66 characters, multiple costumes and props, short scenes, changing locations and musical moments, they told a universal story. This production was full of action, humour, music and emotion and we received lots of appreciative , congratulatory messages…
“Really enjoyed first night performance of Caucasian Chalk Circle tonight. Fabulous set and great story telling from each member of the cast”.
“…brilliantly acted and highly entertaining”.
“We thoroughly enjoyed it. A poignant story and a great production”.
“wonderful evening of storytelling and actor commitment. Some terrific characterisations, enhanced by great creativity, direction, lighting, set and costumes. Absolutely terrific!”
Shakespeare in Love, 2023
This was one of our biggest and most elaborate productions to date. It didn’t disappoint. We had record breaking ticket sales, with all but a handful of matinee tickets sold. Swords, huge number of costume changes, trapdoors, dancing, singing and live music …and a dog!
As a Company we would like to applaud the Saturday audiences for their determination, arriving dressed for the weather and continuing to laugh and applaud throughout! You were amazing!
We had some lovely feedback too…
“I experienced my first Shakespeare play with you last night…thoroughly enjoyed the whole evening from the lovely welcoming, beautiful setting, tasty picnic, jug of Pimms…and great performances by everyone…thank you for your love & passion…fingers crossed I get to experience another play with you”
“Fantastic”
“We all really enjoyed the performance.. cast amazing .. thank you all very much” x
“We thoroughly enjoyed it! Thank you for putting on such a great performance. Many congrats to all concerned”.
“Absolutely fab - well done to everyone”
“Loved it! Well done everyone!”
“Brilliant production”
“We enjoyed the play - very professional performance”
“What a great evening! Amazing show!”
“Congratulations - a great first night for the Players - really enjoyed being there!”
For those who missed Chris Whatmore’s informative talk about Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare’s theatrical world, we have added a link to a video recording below…
For those who missed Chris Whatmore’s informative talk about Romeo and Juliet and Shakespeare’s theatrical world, we have added a link to a video recording below…
Much Ado About Nothing, 2022
“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps!”
Thank you so much f0r the very positive and kind comments that were sent to us…
“Last night was quite magical. Full of energy and beautiful performances”
“I just wanted to say we were blown away by Much Ado this year… a triumph”
“From the get go, the amazing set transported us to Italy. I loved the small touches, like the "Leonata" painted on the wooden crates…provided just the right atmosphere”
“…the focus on Shakespeare's language, which even 400 years on was completely accessible because the cast both spoke it and acted it with crystal clarity, every gesture helping to clarify the meaning”
“The show was terrific!”
“It was a wonderful production!”
“I do not know how you found sufficient rehearsal time to practice enough to get it so slick and professional!”
“Wonderful - we thoroughly enjoyed it”
“Better than some I’ve seen at The Globe!”
“We enjoyed the performance last night enormously. The acting was brilliant as was the choreography of the dance sequences. The set was appropriate and the lighting was subtle and helped to set the mood for each scene. We've been many times over the years and will no doubt be back. Congratulations to everyone involved”
“Totally stunning performance last night!”
“Totally loved the set too!”
“Well done to you all!”
“Just a note to say I really enjoyed last nights show, please pass on my congratulations to all involved”
“The performances were wonderful and there were some nice touches which really added to the overall show. Great attention to detail and loved the ensemble bits”
Romeo and Juliet, 2021
Romeo and Juliet was postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic. It was directed by Christopher Staines who previously directed A Servant to Two Masters and Cider with Rosie for the Players. Most of the the cast were auditioned at the very start of February 2020, so it was a very long wait for us all. The production was set in the 1960s, when Mods clashed with Rockers and music was groovy, fun and loud. Christopher said that he wanted to find a setting for the production that spoke directly to us and the world we live in. That era, its fashions and its music, has a hint of nostalgia for us now. After such a long wait and uncertainty that it would happen right up until opening night, we were delighted to play to sold out houses and get amazing responses from our audiences each and every night.
“I have just watched Friday's performance and it was an absolute triumph. A new take on a classic, fresh, slick, never short of pace and this without ever losing the storyline. From line one to till the end you couldn't take your eyes of it. A lot of hard work went in to achieve this level of performance. It is up there with the best the Players have done. All cast and crew can be proud of the result and on this evidence, the future of the Players looks to be in safe hands. Congratulations.”
“It was a fabulous performance - very impressed indeed.”
“Thoroughly enjoyed last night's performance. Thank you so much!”
“Fabulous production all round.”
“Two Households….. Outstanding!
Beautifully set.
Professional from the moment you walked in, to the last scene.
All very talented.
Thank you.
Loved every minute
Congratulations”
“Absolutely brilliant. I was mesmerised by the acting and the set. Well done to everyone involved from the time we walked through the gate until we left.”
“It was absolutely brilliant”
“You were all fantastic and what an absolute delight it was to watch such a high-calibre performance. Well done to you all!”
“Well done to everyone. I was totally mesmerised. Such a wonderful production.”
“The show was brilliant - well done all!”
“Great performances by everyone - congrats - such a memorable evening after a bad sad 18 months”
During 2021 when Romeo and Juliet was cast but postponed due to the pandemic, the cast gathered virtually and created this alternative prologue…
July 2019 - The Crucible
Blewbury Players were delighted that Sebastian Palka agreed to return to Blewbury for the summer of 2019 and direct The Crucible. Sebastian made his Blewbury debut directing the very popular Great Expectations in 2017. This was notable for its strong characters and ensemble scenes.
““We went to see The Crucible in Blewbury last night and were swept back in time by a fantastic rendition of this story. Thank god the rain kept off, as we had to cancel our Friday night tickets and move them over to Saturday. I counted over 200 people there last night. We followed a coach load in- who obviously made this an annual event. Who says THEATRE’s dead???What an event. Excellent acting,good directing.””
““My partner, Russ, and I went to the first showing of The Blewbury Players’ “The Crucible” tonight. Wow! We were blown away at how powerful it was. All the actors played with such passion and conviction. The whole production was wonderful. Absolutely brilliant! Well done, all.””
Alex Chapman July 18, 2019
Trial by Hellfire…
If you haven’t seen or read The Crucible, I’ll warn you now that it isn’t a particularly happy play. Without spoiling too much, the narrative focuses on the 1692 Salem witch trials and the paranoia, hysteria and greed that both motivated the events and featured prominently within them. Bleaker still, it’s impossible to treat this play purely as a somewhat grim historical drama, since Miller wrote The Crucible as an allegory of the 1950s McCarthy witch hunts. This leaves the audience with a rather sobering thought: is institutionalized hysteria merely part of a continuing pattern of human misconduct? If so, is it something we can ever hope to overcome? I’ll refrain from too much political commentary, though I genuinely feel that The Crucible is one of those plays that you should watch simply because you have to. True, it’s frequently tense and emotionally raw, but it’s worth it alone for the commentary it provides on institutionalized paranoia and the subjectification of truth.
I was thoroughly impressed with the Blewbury Players’ production of The Crucible. Before I critique the production, however, special praise should be given to the location, since an hour before the play started all members of the audience were invited to an open clearing where they could spread out a rug and enjoy any food they’d brought with them. Admittedly, I’ve never been all that into picnic culture, but it certainly created a relaxed and rather pleasant atmosphere that’s hard not to appreciate. The stage itself is open air, and whilst this setting doesn’t provide the acoustics of an indoor theatre (this was only a minor problem in the first half when there were a few lines I struggled to hear, and I had no issues in the second half), the absence of a traditional stage arrangement allowed for a creative and versatile design. One particularly impressive background feature was a large cross that at one point in the narrative, folded back and transformed into gallows. Not only was the symbolism striking, it also emphasised the tonal change of the narrative.
The acting was another admirable aspect of the production, with the cast delivering strong performances across the board. I particularly enjoyed by Alex Watts’ portrayal of John Proctor, an everyman motivated by moral conviction and a genuine desire for honesty, who nonetheless has feet of clay. However, I felt that slightly more could have been made of certain comedic lines in the first half of the play. Whilst the audience delivered the odd polite chuckle, certain lines felt like they should have elicited a greater response. Nonetheless, the court proceedings in the second half felt suitably intimidating and emotionally intense, ensuring that the two halves effectively tonally contrasted with each other. This was also helped by the striking use of lighting, as well as the subtle, though clearly ominous, music that appeared during certain scenes.
This is an excellent play that’s supported by strong acting and an imaginative and profoundly striking production. If you have the opportunity to see it, I highly recommend that you do, though you should definitely check the weather conditions beforehand. You might also consider bringing food, drink and a picnic rug.
