KIDDERMINSTER PLAYHOUSE
1946 - 1968 A Souvenir

History

Contents

1965 - 1966

Nothing if not dramatic, the Nonentities appeared periwigged and powdered before the Mayor at the Town Hall to present a petition. The costumes came from the musical, Virtue in Danger, and the petition protested against the demolition of the theatre without provision for its replacement. It asked for the allocation of a site and a declaration of the Corporation's intent to build a new theatre.

Within a year - although not without hard words - the first point had been granted and the site allocated. Another year was to pass before the second demand was conceded and the declaration forthcoming.

The Nonentities began badly with a play called Letter from the General, which experienced casting troubles. The Shop at Sly Corner and the serene beauty of Turgenev's A Month in the Country, in which Joy Brockway and Neville Bowker excelled and in which Arnold Pitt, Peter Baker and Christine Hill made first appearances, soon made amends.

Virtue in Danger, the Restoration romp, was followed by The Importance of being Earnest (John Hunter and Robin Flack in form) and The Reluctant Peer.

Norman Hanson produced Kismet for Carpet Trades and the LAOS celebrated its jubilee with a joyful revival of Oklahoma! The Women's Institutes packed the theatre for Lady Precious Stream, produced by Betty Beresford, and the new Stourport Choral and Operatic Society got off to a promising start with a production of Iolanthe by Sheila Jacobs, conducted by Alexander Bryce and marking the return to local amateur work of Graham Wyer after a spell in the West Country.

Another new group, Theatre Club, made an immediate mark with a production of Richard III, with Philip Ryder in the name part.

Repertory plays were A Public Mischief, Person Unknown, Past Imperfect, Make Me a Widow, Reluctant Heroes, Worm's Eye View, Mr Kettle and Mrs Moon, Rookery Nook, Jane Steps Out and The First Mrs Fraser.

The Scouts provided another Gang Show, the pantomime was Cinderella and David Kossoff provided an unusual evening with his one-man show.

The loss on the year was reduced to £2,358 - but there was one big difference. Grants had ceased (this was the hardest blow of all) and the loss had to be met out of capital.