Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1937-1966 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 bundle
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
'Rowntree Players' is the oldest amateur theatre company in York and one of the oldest in the country. The company was established in 1912 as the 'Cocoa Works Dramatic Society' by workers from the Rowntrees Chocolate factory.
The first performances by the Society were staged in the factory's lecture hall, before moving to the Joseph Rowntree Theatre in 1935. To this day the majority of productions take place in the Joseph Rowntree Theatre.
The company is community-based and includes members of all ages and abilities from all over Yorkshire. It specialises in all genres of theatre productions, although it produced muscials infrequently compared to other types of theatre. The company continues to stage an annual pantomime.
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Includes programmes for the following performances:
'The Applecart' (Shaw) 11-13 November 1937;
'And So To Bed' (J B Fagan) 10-12 February 1938;
'La Vie Parisienne' (Offenbach) 29-31 March, 1-2 April 1938;
'Service' (D Smith) 23,25-26 November 1938;
'The Mocking Bird' (L Hale) 8, 10-11 February 1939;
'Payment Deferred' (J Dell) 29, 31 March, 1 April 1939;
'Barnet's Folly' (J Strewer) 24,26-27 January 1940;
'The Nelson Touch' (N Grant) 17,19-20 April 1940;
'Spring 1600' (E Williams) 11-16 December 1946;
'The Watch on the Rhine' (L Hellman) 26-28 February, 1 March 1947;
'The Bread Winner' (S Maugham) 30 APril, 1-3 May 1947;
'Wishing Well' (E E Evans) 26-29 November 1946;
'National Velvet' (E Bagnold) 18-21 February 1948;
'Ladies in Retirement' (Percy & Denham) 21-24 April 1948;
'The Shop at Sly Corner' (E Percy) 2-5 February 1949;
'Lady from Edinburgh' (Stuart & Rose) 6-9 April 1949;
'A Recital of Poetry & Music', Sunday, 17 July 1949;
'Dear Brutus' (J M Barrie) 2-5 November 1949 and Press Review, Photograph;
'A Recital of Poetry & Music', Sunday, 27 November 1949;
'The Whiteheaded Boy' (L Robinson) 25-28 January 1950;
'Miss Elizabeth Bennet' (A A Milne) 29-31 March, 1 April 1950;
'The Chiltern Hundreds' (W Douglas-Hone) 25-28 October 1950;
'Trespass' (E Williams) 31 January, 1-2 February 1951;
'The Paragon' (M Pertwee) 4-7 April 1951;
'A Recital of Poetry & Music', Sunday, 22 July 1951;
'Yellow S and s' (E & A Philpotts) 24-27 October 1951;
'The Beaux Stratagem' (G Farquhar) 22-26 January 1952;
'Gaslight' (P Hamilton) 2-5 April 1952;
'The Light of Heart' (E Williams) 29-30 October, 1 November 1952;
'Uncle Harry' (T Job) 2-7 February 1953;
'The Happiest Days of Your Life' (J Dighton) 16-18 April 1953;
'The Holly & the Ivy' (W Browne) 22-24 October 1953;
'Double Door' (E McFadden) 4-6 February 1954;
'Pygmalion' (Shaw) 8-10 April 1954;
'Maytime Follies - Song & Dance Show', 27-28 May 1954;
'You Never Can Tell' (Shaw) 28-30 October 1954;
'The Hollow' (A Christie) 20-22 January 1955;
'The Lady's Not For Burning' (C Fry) 31 March, 1-2 April 1955;
'Maytine Follies -Song & Dance Show', 18-21 May 1955;
'Love from a Stranger' (F Vosper) 10-12 November 1955;
'Seagulls Over Sorrento' (H Hastings) 26-28 January 1956;
'Arsenic & Old Lace' (J Kesselring) 22-24 March 1956;
'The Maytime Follies - Song & Dance Show', 2-5 May 1956;
'Flare Path' (T Rattigan) 25-27 October 1956;
'Reluctant Heroes' (C Morris) 24-26 January 1957;
'The Importance of Being Earnest' (O Wilde) 28-30 March 1957;
'The Maytime Follies - Song & Dance Show', 29-31 May 1957;
'Simon and Laura' (A Melville) 31 October, 1-2 November 1957;
'Bonaventure' (C Hastings) 30-31 January, 1 February 1958;
'The River Line' (C Morgan) 27-29 March 1958;
'The Maytime Follies - Song & Dance Show', 14-17 May 1958;
'Al for Mary' (Brooke & Bannerman) 30-31 October, 1 November 1958;
'Towards Zero' (A Christie) 29-31 January 1959;
'Separate Tables' (T Rattigan) 19-21 March 1959;
'Maytime Follies -Song & Dance Show', 6-9 May 1959;
'The Reluctant Debutante' (W Douglas-Home) 5-7 November 1959;
'Sailor, Beware' (King & Cary) 28-30 January 1960;
'Toad of Toad Hall' (A A Milne) 23-26 March 1960;
'Brothers In Law' (Williams & Cecil) 27-29 October 1960;
'The Touch of Fear' (D & C Christie) 26-28 January 1961;
'The Orchard Walls' (R F Delderfield) 23-25 March 1961;
'The Boy Friend' (S Wilson) 31 May, 1-3 June 1961;
'Waiting For Gillian' (R Miller) 2-4 November 1961;
'Dry Rot' (J Chapman) 1-3 February 1962;
'The Diary of Anne Frank' (Goodrich & Hackett) 29-31 March 1962;
'Jubilee Follies - Song & Dance Show', 30-31 May, 1-2 June 1962;
'The Secret Tent' (E Addynan) 1-3 November 1962;
'The Devil's Disciple' (Shaw) 31 January, 1-2 February 1963;
'And Suddenly It's Spring' (J Popplewell) 4-6 April 1963;
'Expresso Bongo' (Mankowitz & More) 29-31 May 1963;
'When We Are Married' (J B Priestley) 24-26 October 1963;
'A Christmas Carol' (Dickens, adap. S Sutton) 18-21 December 1963;
'The Rape of the Belt' (B W Levy) 12-14 March 1964;
'Johnny Belinda' (E Harris) 7-9 May 1964;
'Hobson's Choice' (H Brighouse) 28-30 October 1964;
'An Evening of Melodrama & Music Hall', 16-19 December 1964;
'Flowering Cherry' (R Bolt) 24-26 February 1965;
'Billy Liar' (Waterhouse & Hall) 5-8 May 1965;
'Pool's Paradise' (P King) 28-30 October 1965;
'The Private Ear' and 'The Public Eye' (P Scheaffer) 16-18 December 1965;
'Five Finger Exercise' (P Schaeffer) 3-5 March 1966.
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Open
Material is available subject to the usual terms and conditions of access to Archives and Local History collections.
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Images are supplied for private research only at the Archivist's discretion. Please note that material may be unsuitable for copying on conservation grounds. Researchers who wish to publish material must seek copyright permission from the copyright owner.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
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