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We are making good progress in preparing for our May production of Present Laughter. If you have walked past Silchester Village Hall on recent weekends you may have heard the sound of drilling and cutting. Don’t worry, no vital repairs are necessary, it’s just the sound of our skilled backstage crew preparing scenery. If you peeped inside the door, you will have seen a number of our members clad in their painting clothes, wielding brushes and rollers and pots of blue paint No, the hall interior is not being repainted, we are simply transforming our ‘flats’ (the upright rigid scenery strips) into sections of the wall of Garry Essendine’s London apartment. To the rear of the hall, you might have spotted others carrying armfuls of costumes and props from the “engine shed” where many are kept. Climbing up to the balcony you would have met our technicians rigging up our collection of strong LED lamps to light the stage.

test.webp Present Laughter set building

Without giving anything away, the plot of Present Laughter centres on a few days in the life of the successful but narcissistic Garry as he prepares to travel for a touring commitment in Africa. At the worst possible time he finds he has to fight off women who wish to seduce him while also placating both his long-suffering secretary and his wife. Simultaneously he has to deal with a delusional young playwright and come to terms with the fact that he is getting no younger and losing his youthful charms. There follows a series of almost farcical events which audiences invariably find highly amusing. The central character of the play is actually a caricature of Noel Coward himself, who was of course the playwright. This promises to be a popular production with tickets much in demand. Performances take place in Silchester Village Hall at 7.30 p.m. on 12/13 and 19/20 May. Please go to our website silchesterplayers.org for on-line ticket purchase.

At the same time as preparing for this production, we have also been putting in place arrangements for our principal social event of the year, our Drammies Awards on 1 July. Occasions such as this require considerable forward planning. As this is a full evening’s event, we start with a meal, but obviously that involves finding and booking a caterer. Beyond that we have to decide on the various drama trophies to be awarded to individuals for particular achievements. This in turn involves sourcing and arranging for engraving and delivery. Another important aspect of the evening is the presentation of donations to charity. Regular members of our audiences will notice that in each programme we stipulate the charities we are supporting. Where productions make a surplus we give donations to these charities, using our Drammies evening as a suitable and enjoyable event during which to present cheques to invited representatives. As ever, we always engaged in plenty of activity. If you would like to help in any capacity (and in particular we are looking for assistance front of house) or need further information or membership details please contact our secretary Sarah Oliver on [email protected] .