A history of Epsom Players...
Epsom Players strives to be a leading drama society in the Surrey area and in 2000 this fact was recognised when the Committee were approached to participate in a show at the London Palladium, showcasing talent from in and around London. The numbers performed by the Players were Aquarius from Hair and a medley of songs from the show Cabaret. Of course four years on the Society was delighted to embark on a full-scale production of that show and also return to the roots of the modern-day Epsom Players.
Always remaining an ambitious society, in 2008 Epsom Players produced a sell out production of Queen's We Will Rock You. 2011 is the Society's centenary and a number of special shows and events are planned.
Epsom Players produces between 2 and 4 shows a year and rehearsals are usually held at St.Martin’s Scout Hut in Church Road, Epsom 2 or 3 times a week. For further information on the Society please contact any member of the Committee.
Epsom Players are 100 years old, having started in 1911 with a production of The Mountaineer. In those days they were known as Epsom Operatic and Dramatic Society and produced shows such as The Gondoliers, Hay Fever, Showboat and Oh, What A Lovely War. Until the early 80’s the shows were performed at the Ebbisham Hall in Epsom.
In 1983 the advent of a new theatre being built, the Epsom Playhouse, to the town, together with a conscious decision by the Committee to move away from traditional operettas and towards more modern musical pieces also brought about a new name for the Society. So it was that in 1983 Epsom Players was born. Their first production? - Florence Nightingale (at the Adrian Mann theatre).
Since then the group has produced a whole range of critically acclaimed musicals from Chicago and West Side Story to Return to the Forbidden Planet and Barry Manilow’s Copacabana. The Society was also privileged to be granted the English Amateur Premiere of 42nd Street in 1994.
As well as musical theatre, Epsom Players still maintains its drama links and plays performed include The Crucible, Les Liaisons Dangereuse, Blue Remembered Hills and Little Women. However, the most ambitious piece of drama that the Society has ever undertaken was back in 1991 when it produced the epic 7 hour, two-part Life & Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.
Miss Hook of Holland - Epsom Players (Formerly EODS) in 1933
We Will Rock You - Epsom Playhouse in 2008
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