The Porthill Players is a
non-profit making amateur dramatic and musical society, founded in 1911,
performing in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. It
exists to provide access to musical entertainment for the local
community.
The society has grown to
almost one hundred members, who regularly stage major musicals and
one-off concerts in and around Stoke-on-Trent.
Porthill Players are
affiliated to the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, NODA
which was founded in 1899 "to protect and advance the interests
of Operatic and Dramatic Art, and of Societies engaged therein".
Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber is the patron of NODA.
Recent Porthill Players
productions include 42nd Street, Summer Holiday and Oklahoma. Many
productions are hosted by BBC Radio Stoke presenter, Tim Wedgwood who is
the patron of Porthill Players.
Although many of the
productions are of professional production standards most of the members
are unpaid amateurs. The society has an equal opportunities membership
policy and members are aged 10 to 80 years, all from the local
community. Participating in theatre and drama can also allow people,
especially younger people, the freedom to express themselves in ways
they would find difficult in other contexts.
Productions are staged at
venues in and around Stoke-on-Trent, including the Victoria Hall, the
Regent Theatre in Hanley and the Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre.
