Loddon Players

The Loddon Players web site is at www.loddonplayersatsherfield.co.uk.

Next production

The Opposite Sex, 26th to 28th April
By David Tristram.

Where

Sherfield Village Hall, Sherfield on Loddon, near Basingstoke, Hampshire.

Box office

01256 880224.

Previous productions

A Murder Mystery Evening, 24th to 26th November 2011

Key for Two, 28th to 30th April 2011
By John Chapman and Dave Freeman. Harriet, a divorcee living in an elegant flat in Brighton, solves her financial problems by entertaining two married gentlemen callers on different days of the week. The scheme faces collapse when her friend Anne, whose marriage is tottering, arrives at the flat hotly pursued by her husband. One of Harriet’s lovers is confined to her bed with a sprained ankle and the second lover turns up unexpectedly, closely followed by two irate wives in search of their itinerant husbands. The indescribable confusion that ensues builds to a rich complexity of mistaken identity, splendidly farcical situations and a climax of comic wizardry.

Verdict, 30th September to 2nd October 2010
By Agatha Christie. The play tells the story of Karl Hendryk, a brilliant professor who, with his wife and her cousin, have fled persecution in their country. The professor is contentedly ensconced in a British university, where he is respected by students and faculty alike. His wife, Anya, an invalid suffering from a progressively debilitating disease, bitterly regrets having been forced to leave her home and her friends and is unhappy with all aspects of her life in England. Her cousin and close friend, Lisa Koletzky, has moved with them to care for Anya and to manage the professor's home. Karl and Lisa have suppressed feelings for each other, and the situation is further disturbed when a young rich student, Helen Rollander, takes on private lessons with the professor.

Private Lives, 26th to 28th November 2009
By Noel Coward. Elyot and Amanda, divorced from one another five years previously, arrive coincidentally at the same French hotel. They are honeymooning with their respective new spouses. Each is at once horrified and fascinated by the other and the passion which engulfed their relationship is re-ignited. Fleeing their new spouses they soon re-discover what drove them apart.

The Tristram Trio, 23rd to 25th April 2009
3 one-act plays all by David Tristram (the "Tristram Trio"). 1) Last Tango in Little Grimley 2) Joining The Club 3) What's for Pudding?

A Chorus of Disapproval, 27th to 29th November 2008
By Alan Ayckbourn. The story of a widower's attempts to escape from his loneliness by joining a local amateur operatic society. By accident, rather than design, he advances from a one-line part to the lead. As the play progresses the action draws parallels between John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and the day to day activities of the Society who are performing it. This production stars LP regulars Danny Spurrier as the shambling madcap producer, Dafydd and Peter Francis as the lonely widower, Guy. There is plenty of able support from Jane Torr, Jane Brydges, Matt Stanley and Denise Hobbs and it is being directed by Chris Horton with musical direction from Brian Archer. A Chorus of Disapproval is described as symmetrically shaped, psychologically acute and painfully, heartbreakingly funny. With period costumes, singing and dancing, this is a Loddon Players' production not to be missed.

Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime, 24th to 26th April 2008
By David Tristram. When a genius commits a murder, the plan is perfect. But is it foolproof? Inspector Drake is back to face his greatest-ever challenge. Who is the mysterious Doctor Short, and why did he marry a warthog? Has he murdered his fourth wife – or did she murder him first? These are just some of the questions facing the indomitable Drake in this hilarious sequel to Inspector Drake and the Time Machine.

Blithe Spirit, 23rd to 24th November 2007
This classic Noel Coward play tells the story of an author who, while researching the supernatural for a book he's writing, conjures up the spirit of his first wife, with hilarious consequences.

Trivial Pursuits, 27th to 29th April 2007
By Frank Vickery. Imagine a group of amateur thespians, meeting at their summer barbecue when next season's play is to be announced and the Society's business manager has promised a different show and the plum roles to four different people. Complex relationship, slapstick and farce alternate with real drama and pathos. Not every hitch is resolved by the end of the evening but we leave the Trealaw and District Operatic Society ready for another season, testing the magic and artifice that is theatre!

Daisy Pulls It Off, 17th to 18th November 2006
By Denise Deegan. Set in a girls' boarding school in the '20s it tells the story of Daisy, an elementary girl on a scholarship, and the trials and tribulations she faces at "Grangewood".

Day of Reckoning, 28th to 30th April 2006
With a cast of eight, Day of Reckoning begins on a cold January night when the committee meet to discuss arrangements for that year's fete. As committee protocol gives way to bickering and gossip, we begin to see the personalities of those present: Ethel, who knows everything about everyone; Pauline, the vicar's long-suffering wife, Gloria, exhausted by caring for her elderly mother, horsey Marjorie who is very attentive to the shy new teacher, Angela. There is also elderly Mavis - who chooses when to observe and when to play senile and Sally, the brisk Army wife. Much innuendo abounds around the vicar whose faith is in question and who enjoys more than his share of communion wine. Thus the tip of the iceberg is presented. But it is in Act 2, on the day of the fete, that the secrets and hidden agendas of our cast unravel. Much has happened to everyone six months on and not all predictable. The cathartic events of the fete are related with humour and pathos.

Review of Day of Reckoning

28th to 30th April 2006.

From the Basingstoke Gazette.

Audience reckoned stage play was most enjoyable Day of Reckoning, Loddon Players, Sherfield-On-Loddon village hall Loddon Players presented their second production at Sherfield-on-Loddon village hall. Building on the success of their initial venture, the group staged their first full-length play, Day of Reckoning, by Pam Valentine. The story was set in a fictional village hall -a convenient setting due to the actual location of this play. Before the interval we were gently introduced to the cast of characters as they held a fete committee meeting. In the second act, we moved to the day of the fete when the drama came to a head with some complex problems, strong emotions a bouncy castle that wouldn't deflate! The packed audience clearly enjoyed the humour of the play. The cast of eight each created a characterisation that helped the piece. For example, Alison Watts (playing Angela Brownlee) with her expressive voice and Jane Torr (Ethel Swift) with her knowing expressions. Special mention must go to Alexandra Thomas (Gloria Pitt) for her emotional scene that was cleverly portrayed in the second act. One of the difficulties of this piece would be the static nature, particularly in act one, but this was carefully directed by Chris Horton with movement that helped, rather than hindered, the action. What next, Loddon Players? CLAIRE WARWICK

Previous Production

The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley, 18th to 19th November 2005
Gordon, Marjorie, Joyce and Bernard are facing a threat to their survival - a rival am dram group, newly formed in their village determined to upstage them with an award winning musical. The querulous quartet pull together an ingenious military style plan that does not quite go to plan. When their subterfuge is discovered by the rival society's psychopathic Front of House Manager, he is none too pleased. Add a few emotional complications for Gordon and things look a little grim in Little Grimley. Could this finally be the end of their society? Don't be sure. It's not over till the fat lady sings.