A Brief History of West Hallam Drama Group

The origin of the Drama group is shrouded in the mists of time - if you can fill in any missing details for us, please let us know!

There has been an interest in drama and theatre in West Hallam for at least the last 100 years. In 1919 the coach house of West Hallam Hall on St Wilfrids Road (now sadly demolished) was converted into The Little Theatre, complete with tip-up plush seats - if only we had the facility today! At that time West Hallam had its own Pierrot troupe, with plays, pantomimes and even operettas being performed.

In the early 1970's the group took the form of a night school at Scargill School, performing mainly one-act plays. By the latter half of the decade this had developed into what is now the West Hallam Drama Group, with full-length plays being performed each spring and autumn, and one act plays being presented at coffee evenings each summer.

With increased fees at Scargill and the removal of the stage from the school hall, the group was forced to seek different venues for rehearsal. These included, at various times, members' houses, the Shand Centre at Stanley Common, West Hallam Methodist Church and the Punch Bowl, where Marion Marriott always gave us her full support. We also found a new home for productions thanks to the generosity of Stanley Village Hall Committee. This however necessitated us building our own stage and transporting it from our storage facility at TDG storage. Along with the set, including many items of furniture, the farm trailer still makes an amusing sight twice a year as it makes its way through the villages to Stanley, ready for the latest production.

An offshoot of the Drama Group was the West Hallam Pantomine Group, which performed an annual panto at West Hallam Community Centre during the 1990's. For many years the group also performed street theatre during the West Hallam Well Dressing Festival each July. There were times when, with two plays, a Pantomime and a mummer's play, plus the occasional float in local Carnivals, involvement with the Drama Group was a full time occupation!

The group now meets each Thursday at the White Post Inn in Stanley Common from 8:00pm, in the upstairs function room.