19Jul 19

Record-breaking success at Cheshire Theatre Guild Awards

Kingsley Players triumphed at the 2019 Cheshire Theatre Guild Awards held at Altrincham Little Theatre on July 17, winning a record-breaking six cups and 14 nominations.

For the second time in three years, the Players were awarded the special Adjudicators Award for promoting a great ‘spirit of community theatre’.

Lynn Pegler, writer and director of new play ‘Peterloo’ staged in April, was presented with the Write Now! Award for Best New Writing, and Mike Vickers and Lol Lynch won the Ron Gleave Shield for Best Lighting and Sound for the amazing special effects in the production. The 14 strong cast performed an excerpt from the show at the awards ceremony.

In the youth section, the imaginative May production of ‘James and the Giant Peach’ resulted in a Best Director award for Jake Powell and Best Costumes for Joan Barker and her wardrobe team.

And talented young actor and singer Chloe Rigby beat off stiff competition to win the Geoffrey Kellet Cup for Best Supporting Female Actor for her role as feisty Emma Fairfax in the musical Dr Dolittle, staged in January.

There were also nominations for Malcolm Barker (Pride and Prejudice) and Simon Hetherington (Peterloo) for Best Supporting Male Actor; Best Costumes for Dr Dolittle and a Best Poster highly commended for Mike Vickers’ design of James and the Giant Peach. In the youth section there were Best Lighting & Sound and Best Young actor nominations for Ben Mather-Dodd, Matthew Betteridge and Maddison Withey (James and the Giant Peach).

Kingsley Players chairman Colin Smith said: “We had a fantastic evening at Altrincham – trophies, nominations and praise across all aspects of amateur dramatics, including our wonderful Youth Theatre.  It is so satisfying to receive such recognition as a reward for all the talent and hard work displayed by the whole team”.

 

Kingsley Players will next be on stage with two productions in the autumn – Enda Walsh’s ‘Ch@troom’ on 27 and 28 September, and Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘How the Other Half Loves’ for four nights 23-26 October.