Saxon Theatre Group celebrates 50 years of drama in Frinton

The project was the brainchild of a Bernard 'Bunny' Prentice who took out an advert asking if there were any other like-minded amateur thespians who fancied getting together.

Saxon Theatre Group was born and staged its first play – Noel Coward’s comedy Blithe Spirit – on June 15, 1966.

“Originally there was probably about a dozen members,” said current treasurer Tony Bullock.

“The group was formed in 1966 after a guy by the name of Bunny Prentice put an advert asking whether anyone was interested in forming an amateur theatre group.

“On the strength of that there was a handful of founder members and it grew from there.

• Founder Bernard 'Bunny' Prentice

“The first play they put on was Blithe Spirit, which we have just done again.

“In the early days the actor Jack Watling took an interest in the theatre but he never played an active part in the group.”

Over the years the group has staged 127 plays, including a hat-trick of productions of Peter Cokes’ comedy Breath of Spring.

Other memorable shows include Willy Russell’s Educating Rita, Terence Rattigan’s Separate Tables, Relatively Speaking by Alan Ayckbourn and Jeffrey Archer’s Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

One stand-out production for Tony was of The Long, The Short And The Tall, set in Borneo during the Malayan campaign in the Second World War.

“It’s a gripping story and we had a set representing a hut in the Malayan jungle which was quite impressive,” he said.

“We also had an extremely talented all-male cast. It was just a very well produced play and everyone was happy with it.

“It’s certainly one that stands out in my mind.

“By and large we are prepared to tackle everything, although we don’t venture into musicals.

“We are only restricted by having to be able to cast it and the complications of the set.

“In the old days we had a totally separate backstage crew and could put on plays with three set changes.

“Nowadays the actors also have to build the set so it makes life easier to restrict ourselves to plays where the action takes place on just one set.”

• Separate Tables by Terrence Rattigan, performed in spring 2009. Jackie Morten-Hart and Ann Lumley, one of the founder members from 1966.

Most of the group’s plays are staged at Frinton’s McGrigor Hall, although the group did do a stint at Walton’s Columbine Centre during the 1990s.

There have also been occasional murder mystery nights to raise cash for good causes such as Thorpe’s Rolph Primary School and the MS Society.

“We have put on a range of productions over the years - we try to mix it up,” said Tony.

There have been comedies, dramas, thrillers – a right old mixture.”

He admits numbers of people wanting to tread the boards have fallen off during recent years.

“I’ve been a member since 1980 and between the Eighties and Nineties we had more than 100 members, but now it’s about 25,” he said.

“Old people die and younger people have other things to do. It’s the same story as a lot of other activities which are dying out – it’s difficult to attract young people.

“In our heyday we were putting on three shows a year, with each running for six nights. Now we are down to two shows a year for three nights. But we keep going – we keep plodding along.”

• Group president and founding member Joy Wooden cuts the cake at the group's 50th anniversary party.