By Anne Hopper, Press and Publicity Officer
In June Hurstpierpoint Players turned their decorating skills from the inside of the Players Theatre to the outside - in July and August they ‘wrapped up’ the building as part of the “Missing Theatre Live” protest to draw the Government’s attention to the plight of all venues of entertainment.
In September the Players ‘Zoomed’ into their first-ever virtual Annual General Meeting – a legal requirement for any charity – and with the usual business dealt with efficiently in record time it fell to the President, Michael Squire, to make a special presentation to the Theatre’s retiring Treasurer, Josie Porter who has held the post for the past thirteen years. In thanking Josie on behalf of the Players Michael pointed out the increased responsibilities of the Treasurer during the decade-long fund-raising to ensure the Theatre’s future. With that future now assured the Membership wished Josie a well deserved retirement. Balancing the books from now on will be the responsibility of the Theatre’s newly elected Treasurer Richard Coney.
And after all the aforementioned smartening-up of the premises it was felt we should take further steps to make sure we were seen and recognised on the High Street - at the beginning of October a new sign designed by Bob Sampson was painted on the front elevation. We can’t yet say when productions will start again, nor when our friends from the Film Club can join us for a new season of films, but we’re pleased that the Theatre was able to provide a venue for preparation of some of the recent Hurst Festival events.
However, we are hopeful a virtual pantomime will be shot in and around Hurstpierpoint during November and edited ready for screening over Christmas. Auditions for a very special production of The Tales of Robin Hood were extremely well attended, all conducted under strict Covid regulations; clearly people are desperate to get back into the swing of performing live theatre.
With casting yet to be confirmed the plan is to use as many outdoor locations as possible so residents of Hurstpierpoint should not be surprised to see mediaeval villagers or various Merry Men involved in intense dialogue in some unexpected places. Of course, we rely on the current Covid situation here remaining the same and if so, rehearsals will begin early in November.