Murder at the Fete – 20th September
Category Archives: Previous Productions
The Actress – Our Previous Production
By Peter Quilter
“The last show is always a very strange affair. It’s like a party, a great buzz of excitement. But then each actor will leave, with laughter still ringing in the air and a cheery wave. Then it stops. And as you watch each of them walk down the street, they look terribly lonely. That’s the thing about it, you see. After all the applause and elation, we walk home alone. And that’s who actors are – the happiest, saddest people you’ll ever meet.”
A touching and hilarious comedy about an actress making her farewell performance.
1st, 2nd and 3rd May @ 8pm (Doors Open 7:30pm) at the Riddell Hall, Deans Lane, Walton-on-the-Hill.
LITTLE GRIMLEY – OUR NEXT PRODUCTION
Last Tango in Little Grimley and Lockdown in Little Grimley
written by David Tristam
This production to be directed by Bernie Kemble.
Last Tango in Little Grimley
Little Grimley Amateur Dramatic Society is in trouble. The membership has dwindled to four and it’s time for dramatic action. There’s only one thing that sells tickets these days – sex! But how will the locals react? Thus begins the chaos and build up to an evening of extraordinary home-grown drama.
Lockdown in Little Grimley
In a time of lockdown, the Chairman Gordon calls an emergency meeting, complete with social distancing, to discuss his idea for the next production when restrictions ease – a touching love story in a hospital, with all profits destined to the NHS but based on their previous efforts, will the NHS actually end up worse off?
Performances will be on 28th to 30th November at The Lord Riddell Memorial Hall in Walton-on-the-Hill.
Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders – April 2023
The Gage Players present, in association with Stagescripts, Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders by Derek Webb.
Agatha Crusty (pronounced Croosty) is a crime novelist. She’s also pretty adept at solving crimes. And when her sister-in-law Alice invites her to spend a few days with her in the village of Chortelby, it’s not long before she gets caught up in a series of murders which seem directed at members of the All Saints Village Hall committee.
From Toby, the Vicar, and Eleanor, Chair of the committee, to Harry Knott the caretaker and identical twins Olivia and Oliver Truscott-Pratt, there are plenty of suspects. And with an investigating officer as incompetent as D.I. Twigg, there are plenty of laughs as the murders begin to pile up.
But, while packed full of wit and very funny scenes, this is also a genuine murder mystery with an ingenious plot which will tax the little grey cells of the audience at the same time!
A Christmas Carol
In December 2022 The Gage Players presented a rehearsed reading of Charles Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”, adapted and directed by Pip Rolls. A very pleasant evening was had by all, audience, cast and backstage crew alike. The Gage Players try to put on at least one rehearsed reading a year.
Good Things – Winter 2019 Production
Our Winter 2019 production
Our play was Good Things by Liz Lochhead.
Set in a charity shop on three different days in one year – Twelfth Night in January, Valentine’s Day in February and Christmas Eve in December – Good Things is a poignant and funny play with a lot to say about finding love later in life.
Performance dates at The Riddell Hall were 28th, 29th and 30th November, 2019.
Curtain Up On Murder – May 2019
Our spring 2019 play was Curtain up on Murder by Bettine Manktelow
An amateur drama group is rehearsing in a theatre at the end of a pier. A storm is building up and any thought of leaving the theatre is baulked by finding that somehow all the exit doors are locked from the outside. A ghostly presence flits across the stage and when the assistant stage manager falls to certain death through a trapdoor, the players begin to flap. Then one of the actresses is found poisoned, and it becomes clear that a murderer is in their midst . . .
Ladies Who Lunch – Nov/Dec 2018
Our November 2018 offering is Ladies Who Lunch by Tudor Gates on 29th and 30th November, and the 1st December.
Previous Productions 1950-2024
 THE GAGE PLAYERS |
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| AMATEUR DRAMATIC SOCIETY, WALTON ON THE HILL | |||
| Year | Production | Author | Director |
| 1950 | The Chiltern Hundreds | William Douglas Home | Ivor Buckley and Dorothy Rae |
| 1951 | Love in Idleness | Terence Rattigan | Dorothy Rae |
| On Monday Next | Phillip King | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1952 | The Goldfish | Isabel Andrews | Cyril Sawyer |
| Fumed Oak | Noel Coward | Heather Rae | |
| The Rose and Crown | J. B. Priestley | Ivor Buckley | |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Queen Elizabeth Slept Here | Talbot Rothwell | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1953 | G. I. Bride | Rae Varran | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Murder at the Vicarage | Agatha Christie | Ivor Buckley | |
| Little Lambs Eat Ivy | Noel Langley | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1954 | Barbara’s Wedding | J. M. Barrie | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| The Barton Mystery | Walton Hacker | Margaret Smith | |
| The Paragon | Roland and Michael Pertwee | David Clatworthy | |
| 1955 | A Certain Man | Leslie Walker | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Love’s a Luxury | Guy Paxton and E. V. Hoile | Norman Clatworthy | |
| Pygmalion | George Bernard Shaw | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1956 | The Skipper’s Entanglement | F. Morton Howard | Florence Culver |
| Browne with an ‘E’ | Leopold Montague | Vivienne Hale | |
| An Hour’s Light Entertainment | – | Lilian Tyers | |
| Still Life | Noel Coward | Dorothy Rae | |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Tons of Money | Will Evans and Arthur Valentine | Norman Clatworthy | |
| Rebecca | Daphne du Maurier | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1957 | Sganarelle or The Imaginary Cuckold | Moliere | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Ring Round the Moon | Jean Anouilh | Vera Sweet | |
| 1958 | The Laboratory | David Campton | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| One Evening at Nero’s | A. J. Talbot | Ted Perrett | |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Master Dudley | Phillip Johnson | Vivienne Hale | |
| The White Sheep of the Family | L. du Garde Peach and Ian Hay | Dorothy Rae and Vivienne Hale | |
| Separate Tables | Terence Rattigan | Norman Clatworthy | |
| 1959 | The Life of Hercules | Thomas Cruden | Norman Clatworthy |
| Stage Cup | |||
| Book of the Month | Basil Thomas | Vera Sweet | |
| A Midsummer Night’s Dream | William Shakespeare | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1960 | The Farce of the Devil’s Bridge | Henri Gheoh | Vera Sweet |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Breath of Spring | Peter Cook | Cyril Sawyer | |
| A Murder has been Arranged | Emlyn Williams | Cyril Sawyer | |
| 1961 | Mother Goose | Dorothy Rae | Dorothy Rae |
| The Curious Savage | John Patrick | Dorothy Rae | |
| 1962 | The Neighbours | Yves Cabrol | Dorothy Rae |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| 1962 | Quiet Weekend | Esther McCracken | Mabel Alexander |
| Bell, Book and Candle | John van Druten | Mabel Alxander | |
| 1963 | The Pen of My Aunt | Gordon Daviot | Ivor Buckley |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| The Late Miss Cordell | Philip Johnson | Vera Sweet | |
| April Dawn | Philip Johnson | Christopher Evans | |
| Dock Brief | John Mortimer | Mary Butler | |
| The Chalk Garden | Enid Bagnold | Mabel Alexander | |
| 1964 | The Rats | Agatha Christie | Vera Sweet |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| 1965 | The Heiress | Ruth and Augustus Goetz | Dorothy Rae |
| 1966 | The Pigeon with the Silver Foot | Pam H. Johnson and C. P. Shaw | Vera Sweet |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| 1967 | She Stoops to Conquer | Oliver Goldsmith | Vera Sweet |
| Hay Fever | Noel Coward | Dorothy Howard | |
| 1968 | Public Eye | Peter Shaffer | Dorothy Howard |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Private Ear | Peter Shaffer | Sheila Poole | |
| 1969 | Flowering Cherry | Robert Bolt | Geoffrey Wright |
| The Irregular Verb ‘to love’ | Hugh and Margaret Williams | Sheila Poole | |
| 1970 | Boeing Boeing | Marc Camelotti | Ivor Buckley |
| April Dawn | Phillip Johnson | Marion Darby | |
| The Real Inspector Hound | Tom Stoppard | Christopher Evans | |
| 1971 | The Proposal | Anton Chekhov | Geoffrey Wright |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Eighty in the Shade | Clemence Dane | Margaret Hunter | |
| Lady Audley’s Secret | G. Hazelwood | Christopher Evans | |
| Passion, Poison and Petrification | George Bernard Shaw | Christopher Evans | |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| 1972 | Our Town | Thornton Wilder | Pat Curtis |
| 1973 | The Happy Marriage | John Clements | Sheila Poole |
| The Rape of the Belt | Benn Levy | Sheila Poole | |
| 1974 | Knightsbridge | John Mortimer | Pat Curtis |
| Gladly Otherwise | N. F. Simpson | Pat Curtis | |
| What Shall We Tell Caroline? | John Mortimer | Pat Curtis | |
| An Inspector Calls | J. B. Priestley | Geoffrey Wright | |
| 1975 | Candlelight – a revue | – | Pat Curtis |
| Silver | How the Other Half Loves | Alan Ayckbourn | Geoffrey Curtis |
| 1976 | Cabaret | Christopher Isherwood | Pat Curtis |
| Black Comedy | Peter Shaffer | Pat Curtis | |
| Lumken Bunkum | Peter Bensted | Peter Bensted | |
| 1977 | Night Watch | Lucille Fletcher | Gill Lucas |
| Vivat! Vivat, Regina! | Robert Bolt | Su Johnson | |
| 1978 | The Pool by the Dragon Gate | E. M. Andrews | Margaret Hunter |
| Stage Cup | |||
| A Phoenix Too Frequent | Christopher Fry | Gill Lucas | |
| Dear Charles | Alan Melville | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1979 | The Orchestra | Jean Anouilh | Gill Lucas |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| The Man Most Likely To | Joyce Rayburn | Jean Smith | |
| For Better, For Worse | Arthur Watkyn | Robin Easther | |
| 1980 | The Red Velvet Goat | Josefina Niggli | Jean Smith |
| Sunday Costs Five Pesos | Josefina Niggli | Gill Lucas | |
| A Kind of Justice | Margaret Wood | Gill Lucas | |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| The Curse of the Werewolf | Ken Hill | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1981 | Gosforth’s Fete | Alan Ayckbourn | Gill Lucas |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Confusions | Alan Ayckbourn | Gill Lucas | |
| Lock Up Your Daughters | Henry Fielding | Gill Lucas | |
| 1982 | A Murder Has Been Arranged | Emlyn Williams | Jean Smith |
| Dracula | Ken Hill | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1983 | The Mayor of Torontal | Gweneth Jones | Doreen Perry |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Habeus Corpus | Alan Bennett | Gill Lucas | |
| The Beaux’ Strategem | George Farquhar | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1984 | Random Moments in a May Garden | James Saunders | Les Schroeder |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| 1984 | Post Horn Gallop | Tony Benfield | Tony Burch |
| Ring Round the Moon | Jean Anouilh | Gill Lucas | |
| 1985 | Bye Bye Blues | James Saunders | Les Schroeder |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Trelawny of the Wells | Arthur Pinero | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1986 | Bedroom Farce | Alan Ayckbourn | Les Schroeder |
| Sweeney Todd | Brian J. Burton | Gill Lucas | |
| 1987 | The Diary of Anne Frank | Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett | Steve Peacock |
| Outside Edge | Richard Harris | Jean Smith | |
| 1988 | One Plus One Makes Three | Peter Colum | Gill Lucas |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| Pack of Lies | Hugh Whitemore | Les Schroeder | |
| The Odd Couple | Neil Simon | Andrew Cottingham | |
| 1989 | Epitaph for a Hard Man | Evelyn Hood | Gill Lucas |
| A Chorus of Disapproval | Alan Ayckbourn | Gill Lucas | |
| Nightmare | Norman Robbins | Jean Smith | |
| 1990 | A Respectable Funeral | Jimmie Chinn | Dave Baker |
| Ruby | Betchworth Festival entry | ||
| At the Changing of the Year | Malcolm Young | Dave Baker | |
| Hunchback of Notre Dame | Ken Hill | Margaret Hunter | |
| 1991 | Come into the Garden, Maud | Noel Coward | Jean Smith |
| Betchworth Festival entry – best supporting actor: Robin Hunter | |||
| An Engagement with Coward | Noel Coward | Jean Smith | |
| Dangerous Obsession | N. J. Crisp | Andrew Cottingham | |
| 1992 | Teahouse of the August Moon | John Patrick | Gill Lucas |
| 1993 | The Creature Creeps | Jack Sharkey | Marq English |
| When The Cat’s Away | John Mortimer and Brian Cooke | Sylvia Currie | |
| 1994 | The Cherry Orchard | Anton Chekhov | Steve Trasler |
| 1995 | The Café | Neville Watchurst | Gill Lucas |
| Betchworth Festival entry | |||
| White Sheep of the Family | L. du Garde Peach | Jean Smith | |
| 1996 | Murder for the Asking | Derek Benfield | Gill Lucas |
| The Slipper and the Rose | Adapted by Pip Burley | Margaret Hunter | |
| with The Heath Players | |||
| 1997 | Second from Last in the Sack Race | Michael Birch | Gill Lucas |
| Death and the Maiden | Georgina Reid | Jean Smith | |
| 1998 | Clerical Errors | Georgina Reid | Gill Lucas |
| Habeus Corpus | Alan Bennett | Gill Lucas | |
| 1999 | Tiptoe Through the Tombstones | Norman Robbins | Gill Lucas |
| Close to the Wind | Richard Everett | Shelagh Bliss | |
| 2000 | Ladies Who Lunch | Tudor Gates | Gill Lucas |
| Gold | Dear Octopus | Dodie Smith | Margaret Hunter |
| 2001 | I Remember Mama | John van Druten | Gill Lucas |
| Jane Eyre | Charlotte Bronte | Margaret Hunter | |
| 2002 | The Hollow | Agatha Christie | Gill Padbury |
| The Junipere Affair | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls | |
| 2003 | Local Affairs | Richard Harris | Gill Lucas |
| A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens | Margaret Hunter | |
| 2004 | Situation Comedy | John Mortimer and Brian Cooke | Shelagh Bliss |
| Daisy Pulls It Off | Denise Deegan | Gill Lucas | |
| 2005 | The Railway Children | E. Nesbitt | Wendy Phillips |
| The Unvarnished Truth | Royce Ryton | Margaret Hunter | |
| 2006 | Last Tango in Walton on the Hill | David Tristram | Wendy Phillips |
| The Casting Couch | Sue Bradshaw and Wendy Phillips | Sue Bradshaw | |
| Toad of Toad Hall with The Heath Players |
A.A. Milne | Margaret Hunter | |
| 2007 | Out of Order | Ray Cooney | Gill Lucas |
| Racing Demon | David Hare | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| 2008 | The Scottish Play | Graham Holiday | Wendy Phillips |
| Vanity Fair | Constance Cox | Gill Lucas | |
| 2009 | Ghost Train | Arnold Ridley | Yaz Leighton |
| 2010 | The Weekend | Michael Palin | Wendy Phillips |
| Say Who You Are | Keith Waterhouse | Margret Hunter (rehearsed reading) | |
| Diamond | Come on, Jeeves | P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton | Gill Gibbins |
| 2011 | The Titfield Thunderbolt | Philip Goulding | Gill Lucas |
| An Inspector Calls | J.B. Priestley | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| The Drunkard | Brian J. Burton | Margaret Hunter | |
| with The Heath Players | |||
| 2012 | Dangerous Corner | J. B. Priestley | Gill Gibbins |
| Relative Values | Noel Coward | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Rumours | Neil Simon | Lesley Parker | |
| 2013 | Take Away The Lady | Jimmie Chinn | Gill Lucas |
| A Provincial Lady | Ivan Turgenev | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Semi-Detached | David Turner | Gill Lucas | |
| 2014 | Yes, Prime Minister | Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn | David Wilson |
| Pastiche | Nick Hall | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Our Man in Havana | Clive Francis | Gill Lucas | |
| 2015 | Murder in Play | Simon Brett | Lesley Crowther-Smith |
| Knightsbridge | John Mortimer | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Teahouse of the August Moon | John Patrick | Gill Lucas | |
| 2016 | Bedroom Farce | Alan Ayckbourn | Sharon Laws |
| Mother Figure and Between Mouthfuls | Alan Ayckbourn | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Over my Dead Body | Derek Benfield | Debbie Nichols | |
| 2017 | A Touch of Danger | Francis Durbridge | Debbie Nichols |
| I Spy | John Mortimer | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Waiting for the Train | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls | |
| 2018 | Vintage Hitchcock – A Live Radio Play | Joe Landry | Lars Sawyer |
| Dear Diva | Jan Harris | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Ladies Who Lunch | Tudor Gates | Gill Lucas | |
| 2019 | Curtain up on Murder | Bettine Manktelow | Gill Gibbins |
| The Music Lovers | Reggie Oliver after Georges Feydeau | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Good Things | Liz Lockhead | Debbie Nichols | |
| 2020-2021 Platinum |
Break due to Covid | ||
| 2022 | What Really Happened | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls (rehearsed reading) |
| Playgoers | Sir Arthur Wing Pinero | Christopher Slater (rehearsed reading) | |
| Under Milkwood | Dylan Thomas/Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls (rehearsed reading) | |
| A Christmas Carol | Charles Dickens/Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls (rehearsed reading) | |
| 2023 | Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders | Derek Webb | Lesley Crowther-Smith |
| Molly’s Calling | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls | |
| 2024 | The Nightingales | Peter Quilter | Lesley Crowther-Smith |
| Alfred the Great/The Spanish Armanda | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls (rehearsed reading) | |
| From Here to the Library | Jimmie Chinn | Anne Henderson (rehearsed reading) | |
| Last Tango in Little Grimley/Lockdown in Little Grimley | David Tristram | Bernie Kemble | |
| 2025 | The Actress | Peter Quilter | Debbie Nichols |
| Murder at the Fete | Pip Rolls | Pip Rolls | |
Vintage Hitchcock – Review From the Surrey Mirror
Congratulations to all involved in Vintage Hitchcock – A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. We have just received a rather glowing review in the Surrey Mirror.
