A read-through will take place at The Castle pub, Brox Road, Ottershaw, on Weds 17th June from 8.00pm.
Auditions will follow at Brook Hall, Ottershaw, on Tues 23rd June, also at 8.00pm.

If you are unable to make the audition date and you wish to take part, please contact Hannah.

Synopsis:
Originally written for TV, Dennis Potter’s deceptively simple tale relates the activities of seven West-Country seven-year-olds on a summer afternoon during the Second World War, in a wood, a field and a barn.  The children (all played by adult actors) play, fight, fantasize and swagger, their aggressions, fears, hostilities and rivalries a microcosm of adult interaction.  Easy-going Willie tags along as burly Peter bullies gentle Raymond and is challenged by fair-minded John.  Plain Audrey is overshadowed by Angela’s prettiness and wreaks her angry frustrations on the boys.  All of them gang up on the terrified “Donald Duck” who, abused by his mother and ridiculed by his peers, plays his own dangerous game of pyromania which ends in tragedy.

The 51st Woking Drama Festival takes place 6th to 17th October 2009.  The Spelthorne Festival is the week after.

Originally written for TV, the tale relates the activities of 7 West Country 7-year olds on a summer afternoon during WW2. The children (all played by adult actors) play, fight, fantasise and swagger. All of them gang up on the terrified “Donald Duck” who, ridiculed by his peers and abused by his mother plays his own dangerous game of pyromania with tragic consequences.

Julia Stevens took home the Best Actress trophy, a well-deserved award which adjudicator Mike Kaiser gave for Jules’ controlled and moving performance as Dawn in The Universal Language.

The team also won the Mary Fitzhugh Award for Comedy for a performance which Mike Kaiser described as being “one of the funniest I have ever seen”.  This was definitely a proud moment for all concerned as Mary was such a stalwart member of The Players, as well as being a leading light of the Spelthorne festival and the Riverside Arts Centre.

Alongside the wins were nominations for Graham Collier as Best Actor, and for the whole team in the Technical Merit award.

There are pictures of the winners with their trophies at the production page – just follow this link.

The competition was very tough, with Runnymede Drama Group swept the board with 7 out of the 16 awards.  But the Handley-Jones Cup for Best Supporting Actor went to our very own Graham Collier as Don.

The Players also received nominations in four other categories: Best Director (Peter Moore), Best Supporting Actor (Bill Jackson), Best Supporting Actress (Julia Stevens) and Technical Excellence.

Full results are available at the Woking Drama Festival site.

Visit the Festival web site to view the programme of events.

Tickets are available at £8 per evening from Chris Moore on 01932 702091.

The Ottershaw Players’ entry, All In The Timing, will be presented on Tuesday 7th October.  Do come along to support the team.

The plays – English Made Simple, The Universal Language and Sure Thing - deal with language and communication and especially how this affects the ways that people meet and fall in love. The plays are quite theatrical—real “festival material”—yet also very funny, as those of us who gathered for the read-through at The Castle discovered.

Auditions were held on 13th July and the play has now been cast.  Congratulations to Graham Collier, Bill Jackson, Julia Stevens and Amanda Keating who have risen to the challenge.  A breakdown of their parts is on the All In The Timing page.

If you have any ideas, or you think you would like to try directing a play, with the full support and backing of a ‘mentor’, just let one of the committee know.

Full details over on the Awards page.