Post #2

The Wilford Players Amateur Drama Group started life in 1952, and was at first affiliated to South Wilford Women’s Institute, whose members were active in both acting and producing plays for performance at the Church Hall, Wilford. From the beginning, the group took its actors, producers and technical personnel from members of the local community, and produced both one-act plays and later full-length three-acters, usually producing plays twice a year, in winter and spring.

There were many amateur dramatic groups in the county during the 1950s and 1960s, as the country recovered from post-war gloom, many of them attached to church or community groups: the Friary Players, St Faith’s, West Bridgford Dramatic Society (still in existence today).

The venue for all the performances, the stage of Wilford’s church hall, was never ideal for the demands of the players, and had to be extended with the addition of an ‘apron’ every time a performance was scheduled. Also typical of the time was the players’ self-reliance, making their own scenery and costumes, and acquiring skills in set design and lighting.

The plays themselves were always family entertainment, sometimes comedies by Kenneth Horne or Wilfred Massey on the lines of the Whitehall Farces, sometimes classics such as Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit and Hay Fever. Cutting-edge drama of the time was not considered suitable for the audiences the players performed to, although they became more ambitious in the 1960s, as they began to enter for the local Rushcliffe Arts Drama Festival, winning in 1968 with ‘Rock Bottom’ and coming second in 1969 with a play with music, ‘A Kiss for a Princess.’

As the 1970s progressed, society began to change, and amateur drama groups struggled to attract audiences. The players continued to the end of the decade, entertaining the community with plays, tableaux, and coffee evenings. For members of the drama group, the players provided a learning process for those interested in the creative arts, and a genuine fellowship. I’m proud to have been one of their number.