In March this year, the Players presented an innovative choice of play for members to enjoy, namely a stage adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s comedy fantasy novel, Wyrd Sisters.

Cleverly directed by Dominic Fazakerley, the production was a Players’ family affair, produced by his mother Kate, with his father Mark (sound) and sister Isobel (make-up) also on the creative team.

You didn’t have to be familiar with the works of Terry Pratchett to laugh at the Shakespeare parodies and over-the-top characterisations that would have done Black Adder, Monty Python and Rick Mayall proud. Or appreciate the magic of the coven of witches and the talented cast, the wizardry of the special effects, sounds and lighting, or the heart-stopping moment when a demon suddenly popped out of a pot on the stove. There were the usual Players’ high standard imaginative sets and props on display, and luscious period costumes, including a perfect Austin Poweresque mini-me Duke
and Duchess.

With the imminent closure of the Mulgrave Theatre the Players were determined to fit in one more show

It might not have been everyone’s cup of potion, but it cast its spell on both fans and those new to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, and the young members who made up the majority of the audiences.

With the imminent closure of the Mulgrave Theatre the Players were determined to fit in one more show. In May, Tony de Lacey devised and directed A Very British Show, with his mother Jeanette’s excellent set design. It was especially created for the Club to celebrate our unique and entertaining British culture, through comedy, drama, poetry and song, from the Middle Ages to 2015. Surrounded by Union Jacks, the talented cast performed our nation’s most beloved songs and comedy sketches, with a smattering of Wordsworth and Shakespeare – all interspersed with excellent narrative links and film montages on a large screen at the back of the stage. From the opening number of Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘I am the Captain of The Pinafore’, to the rousing finale of The Pythons ‘Always Look on The Bright Side of Life’, with the audience joining in, and a reprise of Flander and Swann’s ‘Hippopotamus’, it was a victorious, happy and glorious evening, showcasing both the Players and British creativity.

The inter-generational and wide age range of The Hurlingham Players, both on stage and behind the scenes, is one of the things that make it a very special group. If you are interested in acting, singing, directing or producing anything on or off stage, please visit the website. We meet in the Polo Bar on the first Tuesday of every month at 7.30pm. We also look forward to seeing you in the audience.

The Players’ committee is planning a number of events while the theatre is closed, subject to finding the right venues in the Club. Just as The Windmill Theatre survived the Blitz, we are determined that the Players and their productions, will continue during the theatre closure, so we too can say, ‘we never closed’!

PETER VOISEY, CHAIR, HURLINGHAM PLAYERS

The many stages of the Players’ ‘Oliver boxes’

Celebrating 20 years of theatre credits

I was amazed by the creative use of black boxes as the ever-evolving set in Jen Jaques’ Musical Mayhem in December 2023, when the Broomhouse Room became a musical cabaret theatre.
I was also delighted to see some a few months later, on the Mulgrave Theatre stage, in an outside event, in a one-woman show about Marilyn Monroe. These appearances were only two of the more recent roles and various uses of these 13 boxes, and two half boxes, one double box, and one table over the last 20 years.

They were originally built by the Club’s talented Maintenance Team, in 2004, when Jean Bird designed an ingenious set for Oliver, using the boxes to create a Dickensian orphanage, Fagan’s London and the world of Victorian British gentry. The ‘Oliver Boxes’ next appeared as excellent props in the engine room in the 2007 Titanic. Unlike the unfortunate ship of the title, they did not sink into oblivion. They featured in 2010 with an ‘amazing technicolour-coloured dream coat’in the Joseph segment of The Andrew Lloyd Webber Evening, and two years later in 2012, in different configurations and colours, when the Club was treated to the first Musical Mayhem. They once again had a nautical theme in 2018 as a boat for the cast of Oh! What a Lovely War. More recently, in March’s Wyrd Sisters they made a short appearance, disguised as a Jester’s stone block seat.

When not in the limelight, over the years, they have provided open shelves in the Players’ basement storeroom filled with props and masks, been used for storing wood at the side of the stage, and as
prop tables in the wings during productions and rehearsals.

Twenty years later and the curtain has still not come down for them. They have just completed a three-night run playing a number of supporting roles in Director Tony de Lacey’s A Very British Show; their last appearance in the Mulgrave Theatre until the East Wing renovations are completed. Like all good performers they will not be resting for very long.

JENNY MONTEFIORE

With thanks to Jen Jaques, Kate Fazakerley, Players’ memories and Tony Gamble’s photo archives.