New Directors, New Faces and a New Play…
…all combined to get us off to a terrific start in the summer of 2026. The Gathered Leaves by Andrew Keatley was a production that covered a number of themes of the more sensitive variety at times – special needs, racial divides, marital discord and family disputes. Not for the directorial faint-hearted but it was in the safe hands of Nick Haymonds and Sarosh Khan, both first time at the helm for Wraysbury Players.
The resolutely conservative home of the Pennington family was set in the nineties, with family members getting together for the first time in seventeen years to celebrate the 75th birthday of the curmudgeonly patriarch, William, who had openly declared that his children have always been a disappointment to him.
Many of our audience members were transported back to times that were less progressive than perhaps today, with long-held resentments rising constantly to the surface and reconciliations seemingly unattainable.
Ultimately, it was a highly moving, poignant and funny family drama that led to standing ovations every night. Huge congratulations to everyone involved on and off the stage to make this a highly successful production.
Directors & Cast: Nick, Ambar, Emma, Ana, Max, Ginge, Steevan, Nikki, Dan, Hieronymus, Emily, Toby & Sarosh
Award Winning Wraysbury Players
The 2026 Awards Ceremony hosted by NODA (to whom we are proudly affiliated) saw our very own Steevan Glover WIN the coveted Nigel Gravette Best Comedy Role in Pantomime Award for his dastardly Joker character in Alice in Wonderland. Fantastic!
We were also proud Runners-Up for Programme Design with our Allo, Allo 2. The Camembert Caper programme in 2025. Congratulations on this huge achievement to Ben Wood & Tim Buckeridge.
The Big Village Quiz
Once again, the Arse-onists proved to be a challenging team to beat in a hard fought evening that saw some 22 teams getting highly competitive with our enormously fun and interactive quiz. The British Legion came a very respectable second by only two points. Well done to Sarosh, Ana, Steev and Nick …another year to engrave and polish the cup!
Most importantly, we like to donate a substantial amount of our profits from the quiz and raffle to a local cause and this year we were proud to present Hannah from BS Bennetts £500 towards her fundraising for the British Heart Foundation in the name of her mum Nichola who unexpectedly passed away last year.
Wraysbury Players’ 60th Anniversary 1966–2026
We couldn’t resist having a little ‘event’ ourselves in the summer, in between our last play and beginning preparations for panto, so we had a fabulous party in July with lots of our current and past members. Dancing, karaoke, amazing food and just a glass or two (!) helped the evening flow until the early hours. Fortunately, neighbours enjoyed our music so much that they were also having their own garden parties!
None of this would have been possible without the wonderful Audrey Elliot, who established The Players with her husband Dennis in 1966 using the old Scout Hut on The Green for rehearsing their first play, The Whole Truth. Audrey can still relate lots of stories about climbing up ladders to get out of windows in the early hours of the morning. Over the years, many awards have been won by Audrey and her fellow actors, which comes as no surprise as some 180 productions have been performed over the past sixty years.
We are continuing to celebrate this remarkable achievement in times when AmDram groups are closing down weekly. Our current membership covers eight decades and we endeavour to grow stronger with each production.
