April 1971

A Letter from the General by Maurice McLoughlin

The action of the play took place in the Common Room of a Mission Station in an Eastern country in the year 1950.

Coffee and minerals were served during the interval.

October 1971

Queen Elizabeth Slept Here by Talbot Rothwell This play was apparently based on the play "George Washington slept here" by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman. The scene is set in the living room of an old cottage of the Elizabethan period somewhere in Buckinghamshire. The review describes it as "a splendid comedy on a very interesting country situation when a couple of London flat dwellers move out to restore an old Elizabethan cottage long used as a barn store. It has all the historical fascination which the play title implies, but the 'townies' find the country has its problems, no water, no sanitation and all sorts of rural snags. Costs mount and likely foreclosure of mortgage adds to the worries when it is also found that a reputedly rich unlce has long been living on his wits.... Towards the end of the play most of the participants in somewhat reckless despair find consolation from the drinks cupboard." Things did not seem to go smoothly for the production at the beginning however with lots of prompts and problems with lighting and effects. It all settled down though to a "thoroughly enjoyable evening's entertainment."

April 1972

A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde, adapted by Paul Dehn The Players' 30th Anniversary production. The play is set at Hunstanton Chase, near Wrockley. The reviewer describes the play as a "rather weary study of the Victorian aristocracy, with its chattering females and their wealthy companions, reflecting the great Victorian gulf between the upper crust and the working classes." He or she seems to have liked the production however, praising the attention to detail in both set and costumes, and having some kind words to say about the individual performances. He or she finishes by saying: "The play itself is dated and may have little appeal to a modern audience, but the patrons who supported the Society would find it a relaxing change."

December 1972

A Home for Stray Cats by John Kirkpatrick The action of the play takes place at Linden Lodge, a large country house near the town of Bridgeport. It was a mystery play which according to the review "opened with unbounding promise but lapsed into a conversation piece with little mystery and sense of the dramatic towards its close." A sister and her brother are finding it difficult to maintain their large country house and take in boarders. A thriller writer and her secretary come to stay. There is an aged aunt upstairs in bed whose fortune is desired and needed by her poor relations. Naturally she is constantly changing her will. The secretary sees all of this as a good idea for the plot of a novel and sets down her thoughts with little idea that she might herself become a victim....... Overall the reviewer considered that there were too many forgotten lines but that the women carried the day. Hurrah!

April 1973

Wild Goose Chase by Derek Benfield The play took place in the Baronial hall of Elrood castle on a morning in summer. A suit of armour had to be hired from Homburgs and a goose was made by Sister Ida of Richmond Convent!

November 1973

Separate Tables by Terrence Rattigan A fading model finding loneliness overtaking her is anxious to seek out the once promising junior Labour minister who through her earlier coldness she has largely destroyed and turned into an alcoholic. An army "major" who has glorified and glamorised his service career though never reaching a rank more than substantive lieutenant in some obscure home posting, has become afflicted with a desire to make up to females in the darkness of the cinema. Whilst performances were praised by the local journalist, he or she did not like the play, calling it "a complete bore." Good value though - a ticket cost 25p! Spring 1974 4 Plays in 1 night - A civil marriage by Robert Tanitch Queens of France by Thornton Wilder The Madam by Gwen Cherrell The Devil his Due by Seamus Fail "A nicely balanced bill of four one-act plays" The Civil Marriage was a broad modern comedy, followed by the 19th century gentle satire of the Queens of France. The Madam was a drama, and The Devil his due was a "hilarious play" with which the Players had won the Wensleydale Drama Festival two years previously. Even better value - a ticket and programme combined came to 25p. OAPs and children paying the princely sum of 10p.

December 1974

They Don’t Grow on Trees by Ronald Millar Roger Lennox, a struggling composer and his wife Ruth, a television actress, try to solve their household cooking problems. The reviewer in the Darlington and Stockton Times considered that the Players were back from the doldrums, and, interestingly, although they are still the Allertonshire Players on the programme and in the text of the article, the headline reads: Allerton Players reveal impressive talent in well-supported comedy. Not a very snappy headline, but perhaps this is how we started on the road to being the Allerton Players?

April 1975

Midsummer Mink by Peter Coke

A comedy the action of which takes place in the living room of Dame Beatrice Appleby's flat

January 1976

Hans, The Witch and the Gobbin by Alan Cullen A fantasy for young and old, apparently. Ticket prices had shot up to 40p and 20p for concessions! "Any entertainment promising to provide pleasure for young and old is suspect," begins the review ominously, "It is like a car which converts into a boat and is not entirely a success in either capacity." But - "as presented by the Allertonshire Players at Northallerton last night, 'Hans, the Withc and the Goblin (sic) by Alan Cullen, held an audience half of children and half adults as though spell bound." The story concerned a princess who has her memory stolen by a witch and the medical student who come to find it. The witch it turns out steals memories because she has none of her own childhood, having been born already grown up. Aaah. Bless.

April 1976

No Time for Fig Leaves by Duncan Greenwood / Robert King The action of the play passes in the reception room of Constance Claythorne's country house in the near but unspecified future. A newspaper review said: "Allertonshire Players' recent production, a largely female cast, presented a light nonsensical little play, which, despite plenty of humorous material, lacked some enthusiasm in presentation. It is difficult to be critical of an amateur group, but the Players themselves, with only small audiences attending the play at the Allertonshire School must have been disappointed. Backed by large audiences there might have been a jollier atmosphere to encourage the actors and actresses." There was an insert in the programme to ask people what they would like to see. You had to tick a box as to which age group you considered yourself to be in a) I class myself as young, b) not so young, or, c) maturer and wiser. How polite. The reviewer considered: "My own view, having seen the Players in action for some 30 years, is that they should go into rehearsal for a somewhat more elaborate period and costume piece, with a good mixed team and take on the challenge of staging drama at the new community centre. It would not only be a challenge, but should bring them in touch with the many new Northallerton residents who might be timid about joining the closely-knit circle surrounding the Allertonshire School. Surely the community centre is the new forum." Which is weird, considering the community centre is now called Hambleton Forum. Anyway, someone must have liked this play as the Players won the Wensleydale Drama Association's annual play festival with Act One of it.

October 1976

Waiting for Gillian by Ronald Millar This play was based on the novel 'A way through the wood' by Nigel Balchin. Described as a "serious drama" it involved the moral choices of a man of high standards who has to decide on his actions after finding out his wife has knocked down and killed the local policeman's brother-in-law. He has to choose whether to let a friend take the blame, get his wife to confess to the police or involve himself in a cover up. To complicate matters even further the wife is having an affair with the husband's friend. (Sounds like he should drop them both in it) The newspaper reviewer enjoyed the change in subject matter and felt it was "well worth waiting for and proved they can present a serious drama that need not rely on stage effects and giggles."

February 1977

Hijack over Hygenia by David Wood This was a play for children during the half term holiday, concerning Measle (a cross between a weasel and a mouse) who hijacked a big Boeing Hareplane over the island of Hygenia, the cleanest and most spotless kingdom in the world. Although there is trouble afoot as Doctor Spiknspan launches a dirty plot to introduce measles to the kingdom so that he can get some fees. As the review said: "Good, clean fun for all the family."

October 1977

A double bill of: The Red Velvet Goat - A Mexican Folk Play by Josephina Niggli and The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard The Red Velvet Goat featured a character called Esteban who longed to own a goat and this play was presented by pupils from the Allertonshire School. In The Real Inspector Hound the action of the play passes on the stage of a theatre, set for the performance of a play, and part of the auditorium, set at Muldoon Moor, Essex. It tells the intriguing story of two critics who go to the theatre and become strangely involved in the play as it progresses. "A normal sized audience" attended, whatever that means. That no-one was over six foot one, perhaps."The prospect of tackling plays exploring such modern themes as fantasy, satire and surrealism presents boundless problems for professional drama groups, but last week the Allerton Players' enthusiasm managed to overcome many such fears and problems", said the reviewer. The interval was, apparently, extended to allow the Players to join the audience November 1977 The House by the Lake by Hugh Mills A classic thriller. The scene is set in an old house in the country. The time is the present. Worth 50p of anyone's money. 25p if you were an OAP or schoolchild.

March 1978

The Tinder Box by Nicholas Stuart Gray (Songs by Elizabeth Tapley) The action of the play took place in and around the town of Kastelburg, once upon a time, a long time ago....1978 in fact.

November 1978

Panic Stations by Derek Benfield By now the Players were performing at the Community Centre. "Farce," as the reviewer points out, "is not everybody's taste but Panic Stations does provide a bundle of roles for excellent character portrayals and these were drawn distinctively by all the players taking part." Set in an old country cottage, the play concerns a complete mix-up of identity when Chester Dreadnought having had a flirtation with well endowed Carol on his previous visit has bought the old house to settle in with his wife. Other characters included an architectural addict, a country yokel and some Army men threatening to blow his house up as a military exercise. Panic indeed.

March 1979

The Heartless Princess by Franklyn Black A fantasy play set in the bankrupt Kingdom of Knut, somewhere between Ruritania and Oz. "Finely planned sets and fascinating effects made the whole show visually effective, and the finely turned out costumes and splendid dialogue added wonderfully to this entertainment." More complaints about the size of the audiences though. June 1979 Murder in Company by Philip King / John Boland Murder in Company was an "ingenious if contrived melodrama about goings-on in a small town church hall when the local amateurs meet to rehearse a thriller and get involved (and that is certainly the right word) in one of their own" The reviewer seems to have found it easy to guess whodunnit by going for the most unlikely person -that old chestnut eh?

November 1979

Pools Paradise by Philip King "A superbly acted piece of nonsense" It was a lighthearted comedy erupting around the farcical situation created by the accidental involvement of a vicar's wife in the national pools with the prospect of a half a million fortune.

March 1980

Lord Arthur Saville’s Crime by Constance Cox, after the short story by Oscar Wilde The action of the play passes in the drawing room of Lord Arthur's house in Grosvenor Square, London. Time the 1890s. "In their presentation at the Community Centre, Northallerton, the Allerton Players gave a most accomplished and enthralling presentation of this incredible comedy situation. They had a very appreciative audience on the opening night, with three curtain calls."

November 1980

The Late Christopher Bean by Emlyn Williams An English adaptation of Rene Fauchois' comedy 'Prenez Garde la Peinture' apparently. The setting was 'The Old House', the Haggetts' home in Childer Barnston, a small village somewhere in the centre of England. The time - the mid 1930s, in May.

March 1981

Caught on the Hop The action takes place in Phil and Maggie's house in a pleasant suburb. This comedy was full of mistaken identities and hilarious dialogue - that's what our press release obviously said anyway.

November 1981

How the Other Half Loves by Alan Ayckbourn The action of the play takes place simultaneously in the living rooms of the Fosters and Phillips. Interestingly the programme notes that thanks are due to the members of the Ashlands Training Centre who, under the guidance of Mr Ken Baker, manufactured the flats used for the first time in this performance. Doubtless these are the ones we still use today!

May 1982

Flibberty and the Penguin by David Wood This was to be the first use of the Town Hall since it was restored and provided with fire escapes by the Town Council, but then someone realsied that the dates coincided with the May Fair and you wouldn't have been able to hear yourself think! So it was hastily moved to the Grammar School.

November 1982

Beyond a Joke by Derek Benfield A comedy to mark the society's 40th anniversary. The play was set in the present day in Jane and Andrew's pleasant and accident prone country home. Six visitors to their house have already died. Their daughter Sally's boyfriend arrives for the weekend unaware of the previous events and due to a series of misunderstandings becomes extremely confused as to the actual circumstances surrounding the deaths. The situation is further confused by Andrew's sister, Sarah, a visit from the new local vicar and the unexpected arrival of Geoff's parents, Audrey and Edgar.

March 1983

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The play is set in Algernon Moncrieff's flat in Half Moon Street, London, the garden at the Manor House, Woolton and the morning room at Woolton. "A handbag!" Sorry, couldn't help myself.

April 1984

The Bride and the Batchelor by Ronald Millar The play takes place in the lounge hall of the Kilpatricks' house in St John's Wood, London, last October. That's what it says.

December 1984

Two and Two Make Sex by Leslie Darbon / Richard Harris The action of the play takes place in the drawing room of George and Clare Williams' house in Highgate, and in Jane Bowers' bedsitter in Holland Park. Time - the early 1970s. Bet the costumes were good.

Spring 1985

The Enquiry by Charlotte Hastings

Autumn 1985

Darling Mr London by Anthony Marriot / Bob Grant "A daring and zany bedroom farce" Edward spends his time at home playing with toy soldiers and obeying his houseproud wife. However he indulges in a series of conversations on the telephone with young foreign female telephonists, who call him Darling Mr London. But then all his secret lovers turn up at his London home for the Miss Euro-Phone contest. With hilarious results.

Autumn 1986

Key For Two by John Chapman / Dave Freeman

Spring 1987

Outside Edge by Richard Harris

Autumn 1987

Bonaventure by Charlotte Hastings

Spring 1988

See How They Run by Philip King

Autumn 1988

Farndale – Murder Mystery by David McGillivray / Walter Zerlin Jnr

Spring 1989

Here We Come Gathering

Autumn 1989

I’ll Get My Man by Philip King

Spring 1990

Bedroom Farce by Alan Ayckbourn

Autumn 1990

Flying Feathers by Derek Benfield

With grateful thanks to Geoff Wall, Allerton Players Archivist and all those members of the Players who have provided photographs and other material