Our History
THE KINGSWOOD PLAYERS - A Potted History
Downend Dramatic Society and The Romsdal Players merged to become The Kingswood-Downend Players, eventually dropping the "Downend" in order to become affiliated to the then Kingswood Borough Council.
Thus, in 1980, The Kingswood Players were born, to become one of Bristol's most established and best known amateur drama groups.
Several of our members (June Donovan, Margaret Mitchell, Sue & Simon Williams, Richard Bond and Kate Bond) have been with the group from the outset.
Disaster struck the group in 1981 when a fire at the Kingswood Community Association Hall resulted in the loss of virtually everything belonging to The Kingswood Players.
However, we bounced back and we are like one big happy family. The way we work together as a team showing through our productions, of which there are three a year.
These include many plays, some written by members of the group, and others by more well known authors. One recent highlight, of which we are very proud, was our 2012 production of Calendar Girls, which was one of the first in the Bristol area following the release of the performing rights to amateur groups. We not only produced our own calendar and raised £2012 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, but we were live on the BBC’s One Show and got a mention on the Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show!
We have a long tradition of pantomime and our audiences know they will see a traditional production, suitable for all the family, with our very own Dame, Richard Bond - a very worthy rival to the late Chris Harris and Ugly Sisters, Ian Goodridge & Paul Taylor - who rival everybody!
We have also performed a large selection of children's plays, such as "The Plotters of Cabbage Patch Corner", "The Snow Queen" and "Dandelion Time" for which one of our members, Pauline Goodridge, was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role as The Phoenix.
A favourite with our audiences is our Music Hall, evoking the same attention to detail and atmosphere as "The Good Old Days" which you may well remember seeing on television.
Every drama group has its folklore and one of our most recounted tales was the night, in January 1985, when our dress rehearsal went on until 1.00 a.m. perfecting the transformation scene for Cinderella! Undaunted, Cinderella was our choice of pantomime again in January 2006. The transformation was different, technically and again the extra rehearsal time required proved worthwhile. The result - a magical moment for the audience along with their gasps of surprise and appreciative applause at every performance!
In January 2015, we presented "Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood”. However, on the second Saturday an unexpected drama unfolded when cast member Rachel Mulcahy was taken ill after the matinee and was unable to appear in the evening show. In the best theatrical tradition it was decided that the show must go on, and a member of the group, who had not been involved in any of the rehearsals for this production, took on the role of the evil Fairy Weed. Emma Bye was only there to help front of house when she suddenly had to step in. Within the space of one hour she had a quick rehearsal of her lines while wardrobe ladies Kate Bond and Sue Williams did some “magic” adjustments to the costume, and then it was curtain up and she was on! The show went successfully and the audience enjoyment was not at all diminished by the last minute cast change.
Our minimum age for membership is 16 and we always welcome new members of any age, either to act, or help backstage. Why not come along to a rehearsal and meet us?
For further information, please email us at boxoffice@kingswoodplayers.org
Or visit our Facebook page.