Compton Players

The Compton Players web site is at www.comptonplayers.co.uk.

Next productions

Three Short Comedies, 14th to 16th October, 19:30
Taken from The Sneeze which comprises four one-act comic vaudevilles and four short stories adapted for the stage by Michael Frayn, introducing readers to a less familiar selection of work by one of the greatest precursors of modern drama, Anton Chekhov. We have chosen 3 of the pieces: The Proposal, The Bear, and Drama for our autumn production following the successful production of The Proposal at the Didcot Drama Festival in June this year.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 4th to 7th May
Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was adapted for the stage by Dale Wasserman. It premiered on Broadway in 1963, with Kirk Douglas in the leading role as Randle Patrick McMurphy. The protagonist is a wildly funny rebel who feigns insanity in order to finish his prison sentence in a mental ward rather than a work farm. However, when he meets the fellow members of the asylum, he discovers that they make a lot more sense than the restrictive and conformist establishment, embodied by a control-freak named Nurse Ratched.

There will be open auditions in November, but if you're interested in taking part in this production, please contact the Chairman - see the link below.

Where

At the Coronation Hall, Compton (10 miles north of Newbury). Click here for a map.

Box office

07767 268634.

Last production

What the Butler Saw, 21st to 24th April 2010
The chase is on in this breakneck comedy of licensed insanity, from the moment when Dr Prentice, a psychoanalyst interviewing a prospective secretary, instructs her to undress. The plot of What the Butler Saw contains enough twists and turns, mishaps and changes of fortune, coincidences and lunatic logic to furnish three or four conventional comedies. But however the six characters in search of a plot lose the thread of the action - their wits or their clothes - their verbal self-possession never deserts them. What the Butler Saw was Joe Orton's final play. See the review below.

About Compton Players

Compton Players have been producing plays every year since 1947. We always welcome new members, and we are looking not only for people who want to act, but also those who can construct scenery, or would like to learn how, those who can make or sew costumes, those with a knowledge of electrics and/or electronics, and those who would like to help with publicity, box-office and front of house. We normally rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and for most productions there are twelve weeks of rehearsals. It doesn't matter if you've had any previous experience or not.

Contact Compton Players

Our chairman is Helen Saxton - contact her by .

Review of What The Butler Saw

21st to 24th April 2010.

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

Compton's saucy six Compton Players: What the Butler Saw, at the Coronation Hall, Compton, from Wednesday, April 21 to Saturday, April 24 Excellent posters showing a Bamforth-type curvaceous girl made it clear, along with the warning that this was unsuitable for children, what the audience could expect. Adultery, incest, blackmail and a broken statue of Winston Churchill all feature in Joe Orton's comedy and it still manages to be hilarious. Unlike many farces, this one chosen by the Compton Players does not depend simply on the constant opening and closing of doors, so much as extremely funny dialogue with one-liners pouring out like February's rain. Psychiatrist Dr Prentice's (Mark Bailey) attempted seduction of secretary Geraldine Barclay (Naomi Read) is accompanied, when Geraldine is asked to strip, by her announcement that her "headmistress made no mention of this in her book Hints for the School Leaver". The seduction is interrupted by Mrs Prentice (Tracey Pearce) declaring she has been raped by a porter, Nick Beckett (Andrew Alexander) at the Station Hotel. Dr Rance (Mike Long) tries to sort out the tangled mess as characters exchange names and clothes. Eventually Sergeant Match (Nick Roberts) arrives in connection with that statue and finds himself in a rather fetching flowery dress himself. The well-thought out set left plenty of room for the action and producer Peter Watt had directed his characters well, so that the movement, often tricky, was slick. Mark Bailey's portrayal of the lustful doctor was patchy, often excellent, as in his fierce exchange with Dr Rance, but he needed to relax into the role. Naomi Read was superb as the young trembling girl, dressed or (almost) stripped, entirely believable. Tracey Pearce, the lying, bewildered wife, looked good and acted well, but there were several hesitations in her dialogue, undoing realism from the flow of conversation. This was also the case with Nick Roberts' Sergeant Match. Mike Long as Dr Rance had no difficulties and sailed through his massive amount of words smoothly - a good performance. Andrew Alexander will no doubt suffer with comments from his friends at looking completely magnificent when dressed as a girl. Like Naomi he stripped (almost) with great panache. In spite of minor problems, the six performers coped well with the great demands that this well-chosen play made on them, resulting in a funny, saucy, entertaining evening. CAROLINE FRANKLIN

Reviews and pictures of previous productions are on the CP web site at www.comptonplayers.co.uk. You can also find reviews of the following productions in the Newbury Theatre Archive (follow these links).
Halloween Murder Mystery, (October 2009)
The Unexpected Guest (October 2009)
Laying the Ghost (April 2009)
A Dog's Life and Jingle Bells, Batman Smells (November 2008)
Puppy Love (May 2008)
Macbeth (November 2007)
Shakers Re-Stirred (May 2007)
Nobody's Perfect (November 2006)
The Entertainer (May 2006)
Dad's Army (November 2005)
Don't Dress for Dinner (November 2004)
The Eighth Dwarf (February 2004)
Three One-Act Plays (April 2003)
Under Milk Wood (November 2002)
'Allo 'Allo (April 2002)
Katherine Howard (November 2001)
It Could Be Any One of Us (April 2001)
Dead Funny (November 2000)
Klondike Kalamity (April 2000)