BELIEVE

GREAT CITY

or even a small city or

a village...

that

"I

in a

of an inward and probable

THEATRE

is the outward sign

- Sir Laurence Olivier

A GREAT

CULTURE."

BRAND NEW 2019 PRODCTION

This Feburary, come and see Tony Cottrell's new play!

 

To see what happens, come along to the Village Hall and find out!

CDA AWARD NOMINATIONS FOR

FRESH WINDS!

Back in May 2016, we were proud to present the world premiere of Tony Cottrell's wonderful new play : 'Fresh Winds from the Willows' with music by Peter Skellern. The play started its limited run on Tues 31st May - Sat 4th June 2016 exclusively at Polruan Village Hall. Live music for all the performances was supplied by the inimitable Lorraine Forsdick. The show was a tremendous success and the Cornwall Drama Awards have nominated: Mike Rendle as Best Actor, for Badger, Tessa Skola as Best Actress for Mole and the whole company for Best Ensemble! Alas we didn't win this year, but we have numerous awards from the CDA from previous years to cheer us up. Fresh Winds Synopsis: Kenneth Grahame's four immortal characters are getting on a bit, out of step with the modern world: Ratty has been flooded out by global warming, Badger is afraid that the Wild Wood might be bulldozed to make way for the HST, Toad is dabbling in fraud while the Mole has terrible trouble with his prostate, so they decide to go on a holiday... to Cornwall! As to what happens next, you can find out below, as we had our last performance filmed for posterity.

POLRUAN THEATRE HISTORY

 Way back in 1981, “The Good Old Days” was staged at the local village hall in order to help raise much needed funds for Age Concern in Polruan. This proved to be a very successful show and, in the process, we found that the village had a wealth of undiscovered acting talent. A meeting was called of interested parties and Polruan Theatre Club was “born” on Friday 11th September 1981. At that time the Village Hall had a very low platform that we used as a stage, there were no changing facilities, and a men’s and ladies toilet were at either side of the stage. Even so, we managed to put on some remarkable shows despite the inherent lack of facilities. Buoyed by our success, a proposal to build an extension to the hall and add on new and improved toilet facilities was put in place; much fund-raising was organised by the club and relevant grants were obtained from the lottery etc. The old stage was then demolished along with the toilets. A new full-width, higher stage was built by John Hill, Bill Cleverley, Les Smith & helpers. Alex Kerr and Tony Bartlett were responsible for the theatre fixtures and lighting. This was all completed around January 1988. The new theatre extension was built some time after this, being delayed due to the collapse of the retaining wall into the garden below, which required a further round of funding. Once completed, this extension provided the club with much needed upstairs and downstairs dressing rooms and a toilet for the actors. No more having to change behind the backdrop and trek along the veranda, in the dark, to the toilets, thank goodness!!!

POLRUAN THEATRE STORIES

It's hard to believe that 2016 was the 35th anniversary of our theatre club.  During that time we have put on numerous beloved (and award winning) shows - so many we can't actually remember some of them!   The world has changed around us and we've seen members come and go, but we are always looking forward to the future and our next production.

 

We decided to talk to one of our old members to ask them, first hand, about what they can remember when the club started all those years  ago.

The Polruan Theatre Club is based at the Polruan Village Hall. Satnav postcode : PL23 1QA Parking: The nearby St.Saviour's car park is less than a 2 minute walk from the venue. When you disembark your vehicle, turn right out of the car park and take the downward path opposite the children's playground. The village hall will be in front of you as you descend. Car Ferry: The car ferry from Fowey over to Bodinnick is a very useful and picturesque way to get over to Polruan, but do bear in mind their operating times! SUMMER SERVICE 1st May - 30th October. Monday - Sunday 08:00 - 20:00 Passenger Ferry: Perhaps the best way to arrive in Polruan is by coming across the water on foot from Fowey and the passenger ferry runs late into the night! SUMMER SERVICE 1st May - 30th September Monday - Sunday 09.00 - 23:00 (please check with the operator to confirm times)

We have had numerous wonderfully talented members over the years, here is some biographical information on the players who featured in our production, Fresh Winds From The Willows.

ROBERT

SLACK

Robert, a retired surgeon is making his 3rd appearance with the club in 'Fresh Winds'.  When not on stage, you'll probably find him sailing the River Fowey with his wife.

TESSA

SKOLES

Tessa is and author & former professional dancer.  She joined the club back in 2012 and  was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in her first performance.

MIKE

RENDLE

Mike has been performing with us since moving to Polruan in 2001 and has racked up over 20 productions.  In 2014 he won the Cornwall Drama Association Best Actor award for his protrayl of Elyot in Noel Coward's Private Lives.

ROSIE

BATE

Eleven year old Rosie is an enthusiastic actor, dancer, singer and musician.  Fresh Winds marks her debut with our Theatre Club.

MEET SOME OF OUR PLAYERS

SIMON

HAMER

Simon is a welcome newcomer to our company.  He has an incredible baritone voice that we look forward to utilizing on future productions.

CAROL

GRIPTON

Carol was the parish midwife and district nurse for many years as is a local legend.  Fresh Winds marks her first time on stage .

RICHARD

BINSTEAD

Richard has made a welcome return after an absence of several years. He recently starred in Holiday Snap.

AMY

BAWDEN

Amy has been a chorus member in a number of pantomimes and, infamously, fainted whilst pregnant with her first child during a performance of Cinderella.  Fresh Winds marks her first major role.

JONATHAN  RASHLEIGH

Jonathan first performed in 1980 to help raise funds for the village hall and went on to perform in numerous plays and musicals.

ANDREW KELLY

Andrew, or AK as he likes to be known is fast becoming an established member of our group.  He's pleased that Fresh Winds has afforded him a more dramatic role than his usual pantomimes.

LILY CARMICHAEL 

Lily is 12 years old and Fresh Winds is her 2nd role with the club.  She was voted Polruan Carnival queen 2015-16 and  is immersed in her syllabus for her RAD ballet/jazz & tap dancing.

KEVIN  FRANCIS

Kevin has appeared in many productions and in numerous guises - vicars, pantomime dames or whatever we can throw at him.  He vows to continue as long as he's still having fun!

JASPER CARMICHAEL     

Jasper is 15 and Fresh Winds will be his 2nd production, having appeared in Snow White and the Seventh Dwarf.  He loves  English literature and the theatre.

MARY  RASHLEIGH

Born in Chelsea, Mary studied at the Mayfair School of Dancing, Singing & Acting.  A founding member of our club, she has appeared in so many productions we've all lost count!

PAM BRUNSDON

Pam is taking time out from running Crumpets Too in the village to make her second on stage appearance in our latest production.

OSKAR CARMICHAEL    

Oskar is 14 and Fresh Winds will also be his 2nd production, having appeared in Snow White and the Seventh Dwarf.  He loves model making, art,  literature and high diving.

SUSAN SHAKERLEY

Sue started acting in 1990's with the Church of Lansalos.  Her first Polruan Theatre Club role was the lead in Let's Murder Marsha back in 2008.  She has, happily, been with us ever since.

FIND US

“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”

― William Shakespeare, As You Like It.

SUPPORT US AND DONATE!

HELP US KEEP THE THEATRE ALIVE!  Our small theatre club isn't privately funded, rather we fund our productions and the maintenance of our facilities through revenue raised from staging each show and also, largely, from generous donations from our patrons.

 

As Sir Lawrence Olivier once said, "I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theater is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture."

 

We believe that there is no finer culture than that which you can find in Polruan.  We hope you agree.  In the near future, we aim to have a direct 'donation' link to Paypal.  In the meantime, if you are a fan of our work or of small, amateur, theatre clubs in general, please do donate to our cause.

 

Cheques can be made payable to Polruan Theatre Club and sent to the Village Hall address.

 

TONY COTTRELL,

PANTOMIME DIRECTOR

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Polruan is a small village with a disproportionately high number of holiday lets.  As a consequence, we are always looking for new & talented people to come and join our ranks, be you an actor looking to tread the boards or someone more interested in helping us out behind  the scenes.  We endeavor to mount 2 plays a year and we'd like to encourage people throughout Cornwall to join our theatre club.

 

Please use the form below for any inquiries or email us directly to send in CV's / headshots.

 

In the future we are also planning to have workshops and master classes with Tony Cottrell, one of our directors,  for those interested in learning more about stage craft, acting, directing or writing for theatre.

 

Watch this space, or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook for updates.

 

 

JOIN OUR THEATRE CLUB!

Polruan Theatre Club - The Village Hall, 19 St Saviour's Hill.  Polruan, Cornwall, UK  PL23 1QA

For bookings call:+44 01726 870807   For more info email: info@polruantheatreclub.co.uk

Back in May 2016, we were proud to present the world premiere of Tony Cottrell's wonderful new play : 'Fresh Winds from the Willows' with music by Peter Skellern. The play started its limited run on Tues 31st May - Sat 4th June 2016 exclusively at Polruan Village Hall. Live music for all the performances was supplied by the inimitable Lorraine Forsdick. The show was a tremendous success and the Cornwall Drama Awards have nominated: Mike Rendle as Best Actor, for Badger, Tessa Skola as Best Actress for Mole and the whole company for Best Ensemble! Alas we didn't win this year, but we have numerous awards from the CDA from previous years to cheer us up. Fresh Winds Synopsis: Kenneth Grahame's four immortal characters are getting on a bit, out of step with the modern world: Ratty has been flooded out by global warming, Badger is afraid that the Wild Wood might be bulldozed to make way for the HST, Toad is dabbling in fraud while the Mole has terrible trouble with his prostate, so they decide to go on a holiday... to Cornwall! As to what happens next, you can find out below, as we had our last performance filmed for posterity.
 Way back in 1981, “The Good Old Days” was staged at the local village hall in order to help raise much needed funds for Age Concern in Polruan. This proved to be a very successful show and, in the process, we found that the village had a wealth of undiscovered acting talent. A meeting was called of interested parties and Polruan Theatre Club was “born” on Friday 11th September 1981. At that time the Village Hall had a very low platform that we used as a stage, there were no changing facilities, and a men’s and ladies toilet were at either side of the stage. Even so, we managed to put on some remarkable shows despite the inherent lack of facilities. Buoyed by our success, a proposal to build an extension to the hall and add on new and improved toilet facilities was put in place; much fund-raising was organised by the club and relevant grants were obtained from the lottery etc. The old stage was then demolished along with the toilets. A new full-width, higher stage was built by John Hill, Bill Cleverley, Les Smith & helpers. Alex Kerr and Tony Bartlett were responsible for the theatre fixtures and lighting. This was all completed around January 1988. The new theatre extension was built some time after this, being delayed due to the collapse of the retaining wall into the garden below, which required a further round of funding. Once completed, this extension provided the club with much needed upstairs and downstairs dressing rooms and a toilet for the actors. No more having to change behind the backdrop and trek along the veranda, in the dark, to the toilets, thank goodness!!!
The Polruan Theatre Club is based at the Polruan Village Hall. Satnav postcode : PL23 1QA Parking: The nearby St.Saviour's car park is less than a 2 minute walk from the venue. When you disembark your vehicle, turn right out of the car park and take the downward path opposite the children's playground. The village hall will be in front of you as you descend. Car Ferry: The car ferry from Fowey over to Bodinnick is a very useful and picturesque way to get over to Polruan, but do bear in mind their operating times! SUMMER SERVICE 1st May - 30th October. Monday - Sunday 08:00 - 20:00 Passenger Ferry: Perhaps the best way to arrive in Polruan is by coming across the water on foot from Fowey and the passenger ferry runs late into the night! SUMMER SERVICE 1st May - 30th September Monday - Sunday 09.00 - 23:00 (please check with the operator to confirm times)