our productions. We
transported
the scenery across
town on a Sunday morning, performing for three evenings - after
technical and dress rehearsals - and brought it back to the store on
the Friday evening. (Saturday evenings at the
Civic Hall were for dances run by the hall authorities).
Rehearsals were held at a variety of venues over the years - in
upper-floor rooms of local pubs, in church halls, etc.
Not
very convenient, and by the late 1970s some members were thinking about
finding a "place of our own" where we could rehearse and construct the
scenery on the stage where we would subsequently perform. This would
give the cast chance to become accustomed to the set they would act on
- the entrances (not least the way the doors opened - left or right),
how much room there was between items of furniture, etc. Much better
than working to chalk marks on the floor of a hired room.
As we were looking for a suitable building which we could afford to buy
and run, Nantwich Town Council dealt us a blow which, in fact, gave us
the break we needed. They wanted to demolish this little gem of a
building because it had become nearly derelict. That's it, above right,
at the time.
However, we asked them to let us buy the building - sparing them the
cost of demolition! We were able to persuade them to accept our offer
to purchase and transform the building, giving it a facelift at the
same time in a conservation area. We converted it into the 82-seat
theatre which is our home today. At last we had a place to meet, to
rehearse and stage our productions.
Going further back in
our history, we staged plays in the now-demolished Town Hall by the
River Weaver.
Over the
years we have won many awards in local amateur theatre festivals.
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