The Players Theatre Company began life in 1999 when shortly after the New Empire Theatre opened, Julie Robertson [the then Theatre Manager] decided to start putting on productions in-house to help financially support the venue. The first main production the team tackled was sandy Wilson's The Boyfriend which featured a set built exclusively in house, backing tracks produced by the Theatre and a small but enthusiastic cast of local performers. The show was well received and the company were keen to move onto a second production, but nothing had yet been confirmed. The show had caught the attention of local producer and costumier Tessa Davies and her friend, choreographer David Street. The pair had both produced shows both in Essex and further afield, and keen to help nurture the local group and to support the work and ambitions of the New Empire Theatre they approached Julie with the proposal of staging a new production of Jerry Herman's ever popular musical, La Cage Aux Folles. Julie agreed and so began a partnership that has survived largely intact[!] for over 20 years.
The Players continued to produce shows at the New Empire Theatre until its closure in 2008. In that time we staged regional premieres including Barry Manilow's Copacabana, Sell out runs including An Inspector Calls and award winning productions of Singin' In The Rain, Barnum, Music Hall, Abigail's Party and Gaslight. The company was invited to join NODA by the then area representative off the back of our production of Copacabana and a number of awards and nominations followed. The company was also invited to perform in a variety showcase at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane following a run of our popular Music Hall productions and we went on to perform a number of cabaret performances locally for several businesses and corporate clients. The Players grew a strong reputation in this period and our productions went from strength to strength, with bigger sets, bigger orchestras and larger houses yielding stronger sales all of which were pumped back into the New Empire Theatre to help fund the venue and subsidise its use by other local societies and performers.
When the Theatre closed in 2008 the company took stock, and we decided to continue the performing arm of the Theatre dropping the prefix New Empire and becoming simply the Players Theatre Company. For the first few years we performed cabarets and small scale performances in Church Halls and High Schools, waiting till the opportunity arose to perform a bigger show in a real venue with the funds we had been steadily building. The chance came in 2010 when the Players successfully applied to present the regional premiere of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which we performed at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon. the show was a huge success and allowed us to book the following year at the Palace Theatre Westcliff. This has remained our home ever since, with the odd journey back to Basildon when shows come our way that we just cannot fit on the stage at the Palace. In this time we have presented a number of shows including regional premieres of Eurobeat, Curtains, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Vicar of Dibley alongside revivals of popular shows including My Fair Lady, Oklahoma, White Christmas and Stepping Out. We remain committed to presenting high quality productions, welcoming performers and audiences from all walks of life and to developing the skills, enthusiasm and confidence of our company and the many guest performers and children who regularly join our ranks.
Shortly before the pandemic began, the Players celebrated our 20th Anniversary in style aboard the Wilton moored at Leigh on Sea, in a night filled with memories, fun, laughter and good times. We shared our stories about the New Empire Theatre, about the 60+ productions we had staged in that time and after, and of the performers and supporters who were sadly no longer with us but remain forever in our hearts and in our thoughts. We were lucky to enjoy a night of friendship and reminiscing and look forwards to the day we can all get back to normal and enjoy these times again. The Players have a regular social calendar under more normal times, including regular Treasure hunts, Quiz Nights, Carnival and Christmas appearances along with the Annual Kentucky Derby Day on top of our programme of performances. We have enjoyed our first 20 years, and cannot wait for the next 20! If you'd like to find out about how to join us on this journey, or how to support the company then please #GetInTouch
