The Woodhouse players are a multi-award-winning community theatre group based in Leytonstone.
The group, formed in 1983, performs six major productions – as well as one-off readings and cabarets – annually at Welsh Church Hall. Currently, they have roughly forty-five active members from East London and Essex who comprise a team of actors and specialists for writing, sound, music, graphic design, costume and more.
Originally, the Woodhouse Players rehearsed and performed in St Margaret’s Church, Leytonstone, having adopted the name of a long-defunct 1950s group of resident performers. They received initial support from Waltham Forest Arts Council who provided funding for their 1983 debut performance Once in a Blue Moon. Since then, the group has continued to flourish, branching out wider into the local community and upping the number of yearly performances. The plays have continued to increase in range and include Shakespeare as well as a number of pieces written especially. In 2003 they won ‘best original play’ at two local festivals and went on to win more awards in subsequent years. 2005 saw their first production at a professional external venue entitled Jekyll and Hyde – Make Mine a Double.
This Autumn, the Woodhouse Players present a contemporary classic at their base at the Welsh Church Hall in Leytonstone.
Timberlake Wertenbaker’s multi-award winning Our Country’s Good. In a penal colony in 1789, a young lieutenant directs rehearsals of the Restoration comedy, The Recruiting Officer. But with a cast of dispirited convicts, opposition from sadistic officers, and a leading lady who faces being hanged, Australia’s first theatrical production is in trouble from the start…
“I have wanted to direct this play since I studied it at school,” says director Dan Usztan, “It is a modern classic and places a very contemporary story about imprisonment, brutality and compassion in a fascinating historical situation. Under the boot of the British army, delicate relationships form, lovers are lost and humanity is redeemed.”
“The cast are young and very committed to the play. We’ve also had some music specially commissioned for the production, which the cast will learn soon. This, combined with the design and feel of the show, should be very evocative and a great experience for the audience”
The play is performed on 29 and 30 October and 5 and 6 November at 8pm with 3pm matinees on 30 October and 6 November.
The Woodhouse Players are running a special ticket offer for this play – book for the current show, Kindertransport, and see both plays for only £12 (£6 concessions). Kindertransport is performed at 8pm on 24 and 25 September and 1 and 2 October, with a 3pm matinee on 25 September and 2 October.
To book tickets and for more information go to www.woodhouseplayers.co.uk
