About Estuary Players

....we are proud of our recent playbill

Estuary Players was formed in Topsham in 1977, initially to perform Murder in the Cathedral in the parish church. That first group of players formed the nucleus of the new company, which went on to present an average of two plays a year in the Matthews Hall, although occasionally elsewhere. Classics have mixed with modern writing, and there has been a distinct strand of new work written by members throughout the company's life.

We are managed in the usual way, through a small committee whose membership usually changes by about 25% each year, and there is no hierarchy around roles - every job is as important as the next, and indeed as indispensible as the next. What are we good at? Probably not for us to say ourselves, but you could ask our loyal audiences, who have got used to seeing everything from Whitehall farce to expressionist drama, and who ensure that we are financially stable, and capable of taking some chances from time to time, or staging something a bit more expensive.

Where do we fall short? Better to be honest here, and say that as in many amateur companies, our younger members are busy juggling careers and families, although in 2011 and 2012 we have been able to present shows with the complete age range. We lack good facilities for the storage of scenery, so we usually go for a minimalist staging, augmented by good lighting- not that that should be any bar to good theatre. Several of our departments are filled by a single person, leaving us vulnerable to that random bus, and we would feel much happier if we could recruit new members who could add strength to our design, props, lighting and costume operations.

If you have checked out our past productions list, you will see that being eclectic doesn't mean you have to include banality, or so called box office certainties, so there aren't many pot-boiling thrillers or tired old 50's comedies in there. One day someone will come along and suggest we breathe new life into a tired old 50's comedy, but until that day comes, we are proud of a recent playbill which includes Shakespeare, Greek tragedy , music hall, German political opera and, a recent trend, gritty Northern comic dramas. Come and see our next show, and join us for the Next Stage....