The History Of 'Playgoers'
In 2016 Amersham Playgoers Theatre Group celebrated its seventieth anniversary. It was formed in November 1946 by a group of local residents who tried to brighten up the lives of the post war community by forming an amateur drama group to perform plays in Amersham.
The aims of the society were to foster their love of the theatre, to visit local and West End productions, and to stage plays locally on an amateur basis. Plays were first performed in the theatre in Station Road, Amersham, now the auction rooms. Following that, productions were moved to Chesham Bois Church Hall and in 1970 to the Amersham Community Centre and, specifically, the Drake Hall, where we still perform today.
George Marks, one of the founder members of our group, passed away in May 2006, aged 92, being actively involved with the group for most of that time, directing and appearing in over 100 plays.
The society has performed many plays over the years from a mixed selection of comedy, farce, drama, classics, and thrillers. Take a look through our gallery here.
In 2016 Amersham Playgoers Theatre Group celebrated its seventieth anniversary. It was formed in November 1946 by a group of local residents who tried to brighten up the lives of the post war community by forming an amateur drama group to perform plays in Amersham.
The aims of the society were to foster their love of the theatre, to visit local and West End productions, and to stage plays locally on an amateur basis. Plays were first performed in the theatre in Station Road, Amersham, now the auction rooms. Following that, productions were moved to Chesham Bois Church Hall and in 1970 to the Amersham Community Centre and, specifically, the Drake Hall, where we still perform today.
George Marks, one of the founder members of our group, passed away in May 2006, aged 92, being actively involved with the group for most of that time, directing and appearing in over 100 plays.
The society has performed many plays over the years from a mixed selection of comedy, farce, drama, classics, and thrillers. Take a look through our gallery here.
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Productions To Be Proud Of
Playgoers are proud to be affiliated with NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association). In 2012 The Flame Award for “Inspirational Contribution to the Pursuit of Excellence in Theatre”, was awarded to APTG for all our productions over the previous year but especially in relation to our production of ‘Happy Families’, directed by Peter Smith. It was the second time we won the award, after being lucky enough to win this category in 2009 for our production of ‘Dangerous Obsession’. In 2014 we were nominated for The Pat Redhead Drama Award for ‘Be My Baby’ and in 2012 we received three nominations for our production of The Flint Street Nativity. In this we achieved a Highly Commended for the Shinfield Players Scenic Award, and Runner Up in the Pat Redhead Drama Award category while Ian Reed was nominated for ‘Best Actor in a Play’. |
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Playgoers also won the Pat Redhead Drama Award for our November 2010 production of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and we were nominated for the same award for our March 2010 production of ‘Mr Wonderful’.
In 2015 John Sharp was nominated for best male for his role in Entertaining Angels and we were runners up for the fabulous set design.
Most recently, our very own Marie Newey was nominated for the Sybil Conway award for Best Female in a Play, for her superb portrayal of Mrs Shepherd, the "Lady In The Van", from our 2017 production.
When you consider how many drama and musical groups there must be in the London area, which incidentally covers some of Herts, Bucks, Essex, Berks and Surrey, as well as London, I’m sure everyone will agree that being nominated is a big achievement in itself
In 2015 John Sharp was nominated for best male for his role in Entertaining Angels and we were runners up for the fabulous set design.
Most recently, our very own Marie Newey was nominated for the Sybil Conway award for Best Female in a Play, for her superb portrayal of Mrs Shepherd, the "Lady In The Van", from our 2017 production.
When you consider how many drama and musical groups there must be in the London area, which incidentally covers some of Herts, Bucks, Essex, Berks and Surrey, as well as London, I’m sure everyone will agree that being nominated is a big achievement in itself
APTG are pleased to show our affiliation with asmagazine.co.uk and britishtheatre.com