19th June 2024
This July Thame Players celebrate their 80th anniversary. As an amateur theatre group, they’ve come a long way from their Second World War beginnings to running a thriving venue today. At their home, The Players Theatre in Nelson Street, Thame, they put on five of their own productions a year, from serious drama to pantomime, plus 30 visiting shows and 25 screenings hosted by Thame Cinema For All. Audiences have grown from 400 a year in the early days to some 8000 a year now. All of this has been achieved by enthusiastic volunteers determined to bring quality theatre to Thame.
Today, the Players Theatre is Thame’s leading venue for live performance and cinema. Celebrities from David Frost and Jonathan Miller to Nicholas Parsons and Dame Patricia Routledge have appeared. Music acts include tribute bands - The Beatles, Neil Diamond, the New Foxtrot Serenaders. Drama ranges from Twelfth Night to Little Shop of Horrors. Comedy features regularly and, of course, the pantomime every December. Community use ranges from Thame Arts and Literature Festival to children’s stage schools.
The first mention of Thame Players was in July 1944, when ticket sales contributed to Salute the Soldier Week and Thame Forces Welcome Home Fund. Thame Players survived post-war thanks to the efforts of a few returning ex-prisoners-of-war. Chief amongst these was Jack Lightfoot, a Thame solicitor who had been captured in 1940. Like many POWs, he kept up morale by staging plays. After the war, with two other ex-PoWs, Jack threw himself into youth work and drama, and built Thame Players into a regular performing group. But Thame Players had no permanent home, and for 30 years productions were staged at the Town Hall.
Throughout their history, Thame Players have benefited from exceptional grant funding and sponsorship, which has enabled them to develop the theatre’s full potential. After a long search for suitable premises, in 1977 a 50-year lease was signed on the Church Hall in Nelson Street, which was owned by St Mary’s Church. This was achieved with the help of grants from local councils, businesses and funding organisations. Twenty years later, Thame Players acquired the freehold, and plans were made to develop the building into a modern, well-equipped theatre. Once again, with generous support from various benefactors, £250,000 was raised, and major work began in 2002. The work included enlarging the stage, adding raked seating, a bar and foyer, and improving technical facilities, but funds ran out before it was completed!
Further generous funding in 2012 enabled replacement of the heating system, lighting improvements, and adding to seating. More recent improvements include a back-projection system, enabling ambitious scenery effects; sound and lighting upgrades; eco-friendly LED lighting; and foyer refurbishment. The work is never over, and future projects include placing solar panels on the roof and revamping the dressing room.
An illustrated talk on 80 Years of Thame Players is being given by Tony Long, a member of Thame Players Theatre Company for over 40 years, at the The Black Horse, 11 Cornmarket, Thame OX9 2BL on Thursday 18th July at 7.00 pm. The first 50 guests get a complimentary glass of prosecco. Entry is free, but places must be pre-booked by email to [email protected].
Here’s to the next 80 years of Thame Players!
