In 1960, our group was founded a small group of people from the congregation of St Hilda’s Church. Since then we have performed over 100 shows, from farce to thriller, and of course our annual Christmas pantomime. We’ve produced shows from some of the world’s best known playwrights, some lesser known authors, and even performed award winning scripts created by members of our group.
Find out more about us on this page and if you feel like becoming a part of our group, why not come along and join us?!
Previous plays
A list of our previous plays
Our first production all the way back in 1960 was A May Miscellany. Since then we’ve performed to tens of thousands across more than six decades. A quick glance at the list of our past productions show just how varied our group has always been, with a mix of comedy, drama and thriller. Various highlights include Strained Relations in 1994 for which we received our second NODA award, Alan Ayckbourn’s Norman Conquests trilogy which we performed in its entirety between 2005 and 2012, and Entertaining Life, a 3 hour collection of songs and sketches to celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2010.
Previous pantomimes
A list of our previous pantomimes
1962 saw our first attempt at a pantomime with Robinson Crusoe, with a few more being performed throughout the rest of that decade. Since 1970, the traditional pantomime has become an annual event for us and now we can’t imagine the Entertainers without it. Highlights include our first production of the ever-popular and best selling Cinderella in 1972, 1999 Hickory Dickory and the Millennium Bug with its topical content leading into the new year, and our ventures beyond the traditional stories with the likes of King Arthur and Scrooge the Panto. Rest assured though, no matter the story that our panto is based on, we’ll always maintain all the traditions that you’ve come to know and love!
Awards
A list of our NODA awards
Did we mention that we’ve won awards?! We are proud members of NODA, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association. We’re visited by one or more of our regional representatives for each of our productions and receive a comprehensive review which allows us to see what we’re doing right and where we need to improve. Every year, awards are given out across the country and we’re thrilled to be the recipients of a number of them over the years, starting with our award for ‘Team Effort’ back in 1987 and including a few awards for ‘Best New Show’ given when our very own Neale Winter wrote our scripts in 2019 and 2022.