NEW MEMBERS
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome new members! Ever fancied being someone else? Well, acting is a great way of taking on a new persona. If you've never experienced the buzz of pulling off a dazzling performance and getting acclaim from an appreciative audience, we can give you that opportunity. We like to involve new members as soon as we can, even if that means only a small part at first. If you would rather work behind the scenes, there are plenty of roles for you to make your mark, including set-building and decorating, sound and lighting, props, costumes, make-up, prompt, publicity, front-of-house, refreshments as well as producer, stage manager and director.
We put on two productions a year - in May and November - and occasionally enter drama festivals too. Usually we discuss and select the next play as soon as we can after finishing the last one. After casting, we rehearse on Wednesday evenings for about 3 months, with Mondays added for about 2 months. For the two weekends before performance evenings (usually Wednesday through to Saturday) it's all hands on deck to help build the set, dress and paint it, then do a technical rehearsal.
We welcome new members! Ever fancied being someone else? Well, acting is a great way of taking on a new persona. If you've never experienced the buzz of pulling off a dazzling performance and getting acclaim from an appreciative audience, we can give you that opportunity. We like to involve new members as soon as we can, even if that means only a small part at first. If you would rather work behind the scenes, there are plenty of roles for you to make your mark, including set-building and decorating, sound and lighting, props, costumes, make-up, prompt, publicity, front-of-house, refreshments as well as producer, stage manager and director.
We put on two productions a year - in May and November - and occasionally enter drama festivals too. Usually we discuss and select the next play as soon as we can after finishing the last one. After casting, we rehearse on Wednesday evenings for about 3 months, with Mondays added for about 2 months. For the two weekends before performance evenings (usually Wednesday through to Saturday) it's all hands on deck to help build the set, dress and paint it, then do a technical rehearsal.
LAST PRODUCTION
Bartholomew Players present:
"The Government Inspector or
A Little Local Difficulty”
– an adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s
classic comedy by Philip Goulding
As part two of our 50th anniversary celebration, we are delighted to present the classic comedy The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, adapted by Philip Goulding. It sports one of the biggest casts we have assembled in the last 20 years, boasts some wonderful characters and is sure to have our audiences chortling with gusto.
Gareth Hammond, Director, says “The play is a timeless satire of corruption in officialdom and skewers the hypocrisy, snobbery and self-importance that exist in society everywhere and explores the universal theme of human vanity. When news of the imminent arrival of a government inspector reaches town, local officials are thrown into a panic that all their little schemes and malpractices are to be exposed. They fall over themselves to curry favour with the stranger who appears in their midst, only to find that things do not turn out as they expected.
Nikolai Gogol was born in present-day Ukraine. Critics saw in Gogol the emergence of a Ukrainian, rather than Russian writer, whose work illustrated the differences between Russian and Ukrainian national characters. Government bureaucrats of the day considered The Government Inspector ‘not sufficiently well-intentioned’ in tone. However, the first performance in 1836 prompted a review from none other than Tsar Nicholas, who laughed heartily throughout, remarking at the end, ‘Everyone has received his due, and I most of all. There is nothing sinister in the comedy, as it is only a cheerful mockery of bad provincial officials.’ The play was a hit!
Philip Goulding, who has written a number of original plays as well as numerous adaptations of well-known classics, has brought the play closer to home, setting it in provincial Victorian England and ensuring the humour has complete resonance for a modern audience.
REVIEWS
Our reviews are in! A huge thank you to the reviewers who came along to see our show.
That a village in West Oxfordshire has sustained a drama group of this quality across fifty years should be a source of immense pride for everyone involved with it, and with this presentation they have celebrated this significant anniversary in some style. Here’s to the next fifty years!
Andrew Walter, NODA Regional Representative, London District 12
An impressive production all round.
Nigel James, Oxfordshire Drama Network
Colour and chaos abound in larger than life adaptation. What an astonishing spectacle met the eye as the curtain rose. Everything about the cast is crazily colourful – from the characters they portray, to the costumes they sport. It is a fabulously entertaining production. The cast really bring their caricatured characters to life, and the script is full of hilarious lines, puns and double-entendres.
TICKETS
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This promises to be a thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre!”
Venue: Eynsham Village Hall, Back Lane, Eynsham, OX29 4QW
Dates: Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th November 2025
Doors open: 7.00pm, Performance: 7.30pm
Price: £14.00 (no concessions)
Available: online from:
www.trybooking.com/uk/FEUN
in advance from:
Denise Santilli 07721 744020
bart.players@gmail.com
Evenlode DIY in Eynsham
or on the door
PLEASE NOTE – WE HAVE SOLD OUT OF TICKETS FOR FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS
Website: www.bartholomewplayers.co.uk
New members interested in acting or backstage are very welcome. We are an award-winning, friendly company. Please contact us via our email address or website.
