2007/2008
2008/2009
Cardiff Players Chairpersons Report 2008.
Taking the milestone events in the year in chronological order we got off to a hot flying start with July’s Fringe Evening on probably the warmest night of the year. This was very well attended with the usual programme of song, dance, sketches, excerpts from plays, poetry and readings. Well done to the Players Variety Club !
In September we commenced the New Season with a revival of Frank Vickery’s “Night on the Tiles” directed by Jane Davies.
A cracking comedy and audience pleaser which boasted a great cast and a couple of performance nominations in the Glammies for which this was the first of our 3 entries. The audience figures showed the worthiness of this production opening the Season.
In November we celebrated our 80th Anniversary with a revival of the very first production in this theatre: Alan Ayckbourn’s “Bedroom Farce” directed by Phil Sage who was in the original 1981 production and remembered it as if it was yesterday. We also formally renamed the theatre as the Mike Barlow YMCA Theatre in recognition of the appreciation and respect of the premier actor/director and administrator who was the driving force within this society for nigh on 40 years.
The New Year and away from revivals to the first time offering of the famous thriller “Dial M for Murder” directed by Peter Stickler. For this we welcomed back to the stage Peter Griffiths who had been unwell for most of 2007; good news for everyone. This production was our second entry to the Glammies.
The fourth play to be directed by first time director Dan Burrows was supposed to be “All My Sons” but performance rights for amateurs were not available as professional productions were being planned. So at the eleventh hour Dan and his team took on Dennis Potter’s “Blue Remembered Hills” and turned in a most memorable production which , for the first time ever, gained an audience of some 115 students from the Bishop of Llandaff School. This involved an extra night performance and put down the marker for repeating invitation to schools and colleges for future suitable and curriculum relevant plays. Final entry in the Glammies with three nominations for performance awards.
The final production of the Season and our entry to the Llandrindod Wells and Felixstowe Drama Festivals was John Godber’s “Salt of the Earth” directed by Peter Griffiths. Thoroughly enjoyed by all our audiences this achieved the runner up award at Llandod and Best Award for James Dunleavy at Felixstowe. Well done. We welcomed a number of new members this year which was really positive and nearly all were participants in one or more of the productions and clearly demonstrated that our acting base is very strong indeed. The same applies as in previous season with directorial standards; proven ability here means that we have a number of members capable of directing plays in competition. P David Joyce 5 June 2008