Newbury Dramatic Society |
Last production
Ladies Who Lunch, 1st to 3rd May 2008
A comedy drama by Tudor Gates. Amelia, Rachel and Joanne, wives of
three of the world’s richest men, meet regularly to continue their
charity work for Save Our Starving, despite the fact that they are
based in London, New York and Sydney respectively. In order to
increase the charity’s turnover Amelia, a modern-day Robin Hood,
thinks up a scheme to play the stock market. The target is a hundred
million pounds and they have almost reached it when the regulatory
authorities arrive. Things turn nasty and their husbands engage in a
little investigation themselves. The resulting showdown is not the
walk-over the men had planned! See the review below.
Where
New Greenham Arts.
About us
 |
NDS is the oldest established amateur theatre group in the Newbury area. Current membership is around 45, and we stage a variety of shows each year in local venues, and also enter regional drama festivals. Between rehearsals we have an active social calendar - events planned include bowling, a car treasure hunt and group outings to other theatres. |
Recent Productions
| 1996 | Watermill | Flying Feathers |
| Wallingford Festival | Caught On The Hop (Festival Winner) | |
| 1997 | Watermill | Move Over Mrs Markham |
| Wallingford Festival | Parentcraft | |
| 1998 | Watermill | Habeas Corpus |
| 1999 | Kintbury | A Midsummer Night's Dream |
| 2000 | Watermill | It Could be Any One of Us |
| Festivals | Is It Something I Said? | |
| New Greenham Arts | Love Begins At Fifty | |
| 2001 | Festivals | World Première |
| Thatcham & Watermill | The Crucible | |
| 2002 | Festivals | Sganarelle |
| Mencap Centre | Sganarelle and People ARE Odd! A joint revue and radio play with Kingsclere Players | |
| Watermill | Taking Steps | |
| 2003 | New Greenham Arts | Arms and the Man |
| Watermill | An Ideal Husband | |
| 2004 | On tour | 2004 Review |
| Watermill | Whose Life is it Anyway? | |
| 2005 | Waterside, Newbury | Babysitting Calvin and A Radio Reminiscence |
| Watermill | Racing Demon | |
| 2006 | Festivals | What's for Pudding |
| Watermill | Abigail's Party | |
| 2007 | Festivals | A Fishy Business |
| Watermill | Far From the Madding Crowd |
Contact Us
If you are interested in joining us in any capacity - whether
as an actor, director, stage manager, backstage helper or programme seller -
get in touch for details! Contact Fenella Newton -
Tel: 01635 873141
Mobile: 07912 565665
Email: .
Review of Ladies Who Lunch
1st to 3rd May 2008.
From the Newbury Weekly News.
Food for thoughtNewbury Dramatic Society: Ladies Who Lunch, at New Greenham Arts, from Thursday, May 1 to Saturday, May 3 There are so many plays available for amateurs to perform, but it's often difficult to find one that ticks all the boxes in terms of a society's membership, talents and audience appeal. Despite its success on the amateur circuit, Newbury Dramatic Society's choice of Ladies Who Lunch by Tudor Gates, did not hit the spot for me, despite some strong performances from the cast. The setting was three different locations, the homes of three very rich couples in London, New York and Sydney. There, the wives of three of the world's richest men met to pursue their charity work for Save Our Starving, their favourite charity. They devised an audacious plan to increase their fund by using inside information extracted underhandedly from their husbands, play the stock market and raise a hundred million pounds. Needless to say, all does not go according to plan. As the aforementioned rich husbands, Ed Tomlin (Sir John Sasson) turned in a smooth and convincing performance befitting his status, while Richard Tripp (Ken Stocks) in contrast conveyed his more down to earth and flash character well and Mike Brook (Harry Milchan) effectively brought out the angst in his character. But it was the actors playing the parts of the wives who had to carry the production, and Tonya Walton as Lady Amelia Sasson gave an accomplished performance with excellent delivery and skilfully held many of the wordy scenes together. Jane Minchin (Joane Stocks) created a super, larger-than-life and colourful character and maintained a convincing Australian accent - not easy. After a rather understated start, Zandra Forder (Rachel Milchan) settled well into her role. Elizabeth West in her dual personas (Gerry Sasson and D. L. Wallis) gave us a stroppy teenager and a confident investigator, complete with Texas drawl. Well done. While the set showed some ingenuity, with the back window scene changing to depict location, more could have been done to dress each - after all, the occupants were meant to be incredibly rich. The art, for instance, could have changed - not just the same prints for all three. Just a few choice items would have helped. Director Sylvia Knight had rehearsed the cast well and the delivery was impressive and slick. Despite my reservations, it was an enjoyable production - congratulations. TREVOR DOBSON |