Players 2024 AGM

The Settlement Players AGM will be taking place on Wednesday 24th July, 8:15pm in the Brunt Room,
at the Settlement, Nevells Road, Letchworth. 

The agenda for the meeting is below, as well as the list of those standing for election.  If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to raise anything about the Constitution, election or any other areas, please contact Jess Landy (secretary) at settlementplayers@gmail.com.  After the meeting, please join us for drinks and nibbles.


AGM Agenda

Any current member of the Settlement Players (who will also be members of the Settlement) have the right to vote in the AGM.

1. Attendance

2. Approval of minutes from 2023 AGM

3. Chairman’s Report

4. Treasurer’s Report

5. Updated Constitution 2010 and 2024

6. Election of Officers and Committee members

7. AOB – either submitted in advance to settlementplayers@gmail.com or at the meeting
8. Date of 2025 AGM: Wednesday 23rd July 2025

Constitution

This year, the Settlement Players’ committee has been working on updates to our Constitution, which was last amended in 2010.  One reason for this has been to bring the Constitution up-to-date with changes to our current practice, such as finance and GDPR, as well as recent changes to the Settlement Constitution.  We have also taken the opportunity to clarify our group’s mission statement and procedures for areas such as serious misconduct and election of committee members.

At the AGM, we will be discussing the changes and voting on whether to update our Constitution.  For reference, see attached both the current version (2010 version) and the new version (draft 2024 version).  We will have a limited number of paper copies of the draft Constitution at the AGM, but if you are able to use an electronic copy, that would be much appreciated.

Election of Officers & Committee Members

The following members of the Settlement Players are standing for election to the 2024-25 Committee:

  • Stephen Charles (Chair)
  • Di Morrad (Vice Chair)
  • Alan Higbey (Treasurer)
  • Jess Landy (Secretary)
  • Hamish Robb (Committee Member)
  • James Barnard (Committee Member)
  • Jo Roskilly (Committee Member)
  • Sam Powell (Committee Member)
  • Rob Evans (Committee Member)
    If you wish to submit any concerns about the above nominees, contact:
    settlementplayers@gmail.com (or the Chair contactplayers@settlement-players.org.uk in the case of concerns about Jess Landy).

Players Committee.

Audition Notice

Audition notice – The Flint Street Nativity

By Tim Firth (Calendar Girls, Kinky Boots, Neville’s Island)

Director– Jenn Pickstone-Groves  Assistant Director – Hamish Robb

Audition Dates:  8th and 10th July 2024 at 8pm in Settlement Kincaid Hall.

Key Production Dates:
Shows 14th to 16th November 2024.
Dress Rehearsal 13th November 2024.
Technical Rehearsal 10th November 2024.
Rehearsals Mondays and Wednesdays at 8pm, Sundays Times TBC.

Miss Horrocks’ class of 6 year olds is about to perform their nativity play for their proud mums and dads – and the occasional social worker. The inevitable squabbles arise, revealing what one critic called “an ungodly snake pit of paediatric power-politics”, with “warm, witty, funny” results.

The children are played by adults, who later play their audience of parents (or maybe grandparents), so the scale of the set and props changes to show this.

The actors will need to take their roles deadly seriously, as any 6 year old would. This is very much an ensemble piece, and doesn’t have any leads.

There are 11 parts, written as6 male and 5 female all with a rough playing age of 20s – 50s. (some scripts mistakenly call for an extra male shepherd). There is flexibility in the casting in terms of age, and the Narrator’s gender. We could also potentially change a parent into a Grandparent to stretch the ages.

Singing – while this is not a musical, all the characters except for the Narrator sing short solos/duets. These are all to the tunes of Christmas carols, and the new lyrics reveal a lot about the children (and their home lives). You DO NOT have to be a good singer, and if you are, you may be asked to sing worse because 6 year olds do not tend to sing well! You will need to be brave enough to sing out so the audience can hear the words. We will also work with a pianist to get the song into a comfortable key for you.

The audition will therefore feature some singing.

Audition pieces posted here

The Flint Street Nativity – characters

Mary/Mary’s mum  (Female-presenting, 30-50)

(“Mary’s Mum” needs to look at least 10 years older than “Gabriel’s mum”)

(Mary’s Mum needs to be able to climb the playground equipment)

Jenny Bennett, who plays Mary, knows all her words (and everyone else’s). She is, however, quite anxious and perfectionist, possibly due to pressure from her mum. “Mary” has good reason to worry, because Gabriel is plotting her downfall…

She sings the most, fairly competently, needs to be a confident singer (“loud and true”), and will need to learn to play a song reasonably competently on the treble recorder (so it looks to scale). She sings O Come All Ye Faithful and Away in a Manger with original lyrics, then Once in Royal David’s City as a duet with Herod, plus a solo as Mary’s mum to Away in a Manger

NB: she will also be required to “vomit” onstage, so this isn’t a part for any emetophobes.

Mary’s Mum is a stay-at-home-mum, and the chair of the PTA. On the surface she seems to be a Wonder Woman who has her life completely under control.

Wise Gold / Wise Gold’s mum (Female-presenting,25-70)

Jess is one of Gabriel’s hench girls. She is emotionally battered by her “friend”, being alternately in favour or frozen out of the group, and shows this throughout the nativity. She is (understandably) insecure!

She sings her solos to We Three Kings.

Coded as working class, Wise / Gold’s mum spends all her time at the bingo, even missing the nativity. She can be very rude about her child, and gets a bit drunk onstage. (Could potentially be played as a Grandma).

Angel/Angel’s mum (Female-presenting, 30-50, Person Of Colour preferred)

(Written as Indian. We can rewrite to fit any female-presenting person of colour, as skin colour racism is mentioned in the script, or to white racism/ethnic conflict if necessary. The competition between Angel’s family and “the Vorbanis”, written as a Pakistani family, is referenced throughout the play“.)

Shamima, who plays an Angel, is another of Gabriel’s hench girls, who struggles with the mean-girl power-politics. She tries to be kind and diplomatic but is still 6, so can be weak and sycophantic. She also struggles with her family’s ongoing battle with their rivals, “the Vorbanis”.

Angel’s mum is described as “striking, svelte, glamorously dressed like a Bollywood star”. She is smoothly vicious as she destroys her enemy’s mince pies.

Gabriel/Gabriel’s mum (Female-presenting,18-30)

(Needs to look 10 years younger than “Mary’s mum” – “Gabriel’s mum” gets mistaken for a 6 year old’s older sister, and “dresses very young”)

Ashley, who plays Gabriel, KNOWS she should have been cast as Mary, and goes about trying to correct this with the “dead-eyed steel of a mafia boss”. Be prepared to study up on The Godfather and Mrs Danvers from Rebecca. Used to having to compete as a younger stepchild, Ashley brutally plays her friends/hench girls off against each other. In my opinion, she gets some of the best lines and visual comedy of the play, which also means she needs to be prepared for a quick clean up between scenes!

She sings her murderous solo/duet “against” Mary to Away In A Manger, and if you can manage it, sings the descant of the same tune as her adult solo.

Gabriel’s mum is her husband’s second wife, which has left her quite insecure. She tries very hard and wants the best for her daughter.

Shepherd/Shepherd’s mum (Female-presenting, 25-50)

(Shepherd is Innkeeper’s twin sister, although they don’t need to look too alike!)

Zoe, who plays Shepherd, is a “brutally factual” girl, who lives on a farm. She freely shares her understanding of religion, additional needs, infected tick bites and the miracle of birth. She gets some brilliant lines. The lines are written to suit a broad Northern accent – it is hard to imagine anyone else in the part after Jane Horrocks, but we can be flexible! She needs to have a speaking voice that can carry over singing.

She sings her solos to While Shepherds Watched.

Shepherd’s mum is described as “later 30s”. She constantly tries to puncture the pomposity of her husband, Innkeeper’s Dad, who has been elected mayor. She has reluctantly inherited the farm recently.

Innkeeper/Innkeeper’s Dad (Male-presenting,20-60)

(Innkeeper’s is Shepherd’s twin brother, although they don’t need to look too alike!) (Innkeeper either needs to have enough hair to be “sticky-up”, or prepared to wear wigs. His hair is a plot point.)

Bradley, who plays Innkeeper, gets “done” (in trouble) on page two, and throughout the play. He is described as menacing and terrifying, creates an atmosphere “like a Hitchcock film”, and has an “expressionless, shark-like gaze that makes him seem uncaring, impassive”. He creates a lot of the darkness in the play, and needs to be a forceful, lurking presence. However, Innkeeper adores Mary, and tries to impress her in ways that end up creeping her out.

He sings his solo My House Always Smells of Beer to Hark the Herald.

Innkeeper’s Dad is a publican, who has been elected mayor. He takes himself very seriously, although his wife bursts his bubble frequently. He reveals his prejudice against Travellers, and puts his foot in it with Ass’s dad. He is obsessed with the lack of spice in the mulled wine. 

Star/Star’s “Dad” (Male-presenting, 20-45)

Marcus, who plays Star, has  a special interest in space (his Uncle Ted works for NASA, you know, and he’s coming for Christmas). He is irritated that his costume doesn’t look like a “proper star”, likes to pretend everyone is dead when he plays, and tends to “info-dump” when he is nervous. He is nervous most of the time, which is understandable when everyone keeps breaking the rules, and with Innkeeper around!

Star loses a tooth in the play and spits up “blood”.

He sings his solo to O Little Town of Bethlehem.

Star’s Dad is actually his “Uncle” Ted who has come back from America for Christmas. He went to university with Star’s mum, right before she got pregnant…

Ass/Ass’s Dad (Male-presenting, 25-60)

The boy who plays the brilliant Ass isn’t named in the play. He wears a cardboard box head most of the time, which he loves because people can’t tell he is swearing during the songs. He is one of the “Special Unit” kids, who “doesn’t give a toss and slightly shouts most things”, so will need to be played sensitively. He gets many fantastically funny lines, but also much of the pathos – the audience’s hearts should break for this lad.

He sings/shouts his solo/duet to Ding Dong Merrily, most of which is rude words.

Ass’s Dad is really kind – he buys gifts for needy kids and dresses as Father Christmas to give them out. Other parents are inadvertently really rude about his “Special Unit” kid and their traveller background.

Narrator/Narrator’s Dad (All genders, 20-60)

(Could be gender-blind part)

Narrator (not given a name) is an anxious little chap who is worried –about what everyone should be doing, about the massive bits of cardboard with his lines on, about knowing all his words off by heart to make people proud, and about the fact that his dad doesn’t sleep at his house any more. He is “onstage” throughout the nativity, and delivers a lot of the “classic” mistakes6 year olds make with the archaic language of the nativity. Because he is onstage so much, everyone gets to see his heart break.

He sings only 2 lines, with Star(although of course he sings along when everyone sings).

Narrator’s Dad only enters right at the end, for half a page, but he makes a big impact. No singing solo for him, either.

Herod/Herod’s Dad (Male-presenting, 40-50)

(Herod needs to have enough hair to be “scruffy”, so Mary can nag him about it)

(Herod is the most physical role– needs to be capable of some slapstick)

Ryan, who plays Herod, has also been strong-armed into playing the part of Joseph because his step-brother has chicken pox. Mary pesters him constantly about learning Joseph’s lines, but he would much rather re-enact episodes of A Question of Sport, playing Sue, both team captains, and the footballers in the clips.

He sings a duet with Mary to Once in Royal David’s City.

Herod’s dad is a bit older, and is supposed to be taking a break from prioritising work to spend quality time with his son. He struggles to stick to this, and resents every minute.

Wise Frankincense/Wise Frank’s Dad (Male-presenting,40-50)

(Needs to be able to climb to the top of the playground equipment and perch there for a while)

Adrian, who plays Wise / Frankincense, is a slightly posh kid. He used to go to a private school, so is known as “New Adrian”. He is another sensitive, anxious child, which is not helped when he is switched from delivering myrrh to frankincense – not the best for a boy with a lisp. He has even more reasons to be worried as his back-story is revealed.

He sings with Ass to Ding Dong Merrily, and his lisp continues when he sings.

Wise Frank’s dad is a bit older, and a hard-nosed businessman. He isn’t impressed at having to send his kid to the state sector. He is also unhappy that his kid has a lisp and is in the Special Unit, but he certainly isn’t perfect himself…

Please contact grovesjenn@gmx.co.uk if I can do anything to make the audition process more accessible for you, including if you cannot make one of the two audition dates. Thank you for reading!

Jenn Pickstone-Groves

Absent Friends Rehearsal Pictures

Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends
Directed by James Barnard

Let us take you back to 1974……

It’s always good to see old friends – isn’t it? All Diana wants to do is console the recently-bereaved Colin with a gathering of old friends and a nice cup of tea. But the reunion succeeds only in pouring salt into old wounds, and what a shame Gordon couldn’t come, being so unwell. In typical Ayckbourn style this play is at times sad and touching, but always bitingly funny. At least Colin seems to be enjoying life…

Absent Friends Opens in Two Weeks on 20th June.

Seats are now available to buy either by card online at Ticket source
Click Here to buy Tickets for Absent Friends by Alan Ayckbourn
or at David’s Music, Eastcheap, Letchworth, (Cash Only).

Please print and bring the E Ticket to the Performance
Please note all ticket purchases are non-refundable.

For any issues contact :contactplayers@settlement-players.org.uk

The Little Theatre
Letchworth Settlement
229 Nevells Road
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire, SG6 4UB

Absent Friends Tickets Now Available 20-22 June 2024

Tickets for Absent Friends (20-22 June 2024) Now Available

Seats are now available to buy either by card online at Ticket source

Click Here to buy Tickets for Absent Friends by Alan Ayckbourn
or at David’s Music, Eastcheap, Letchworth, (Cash Only).

Please print and bring the E Ticket to the Performance
Please note all ticket purchases are non-refundable.

For any issues contact :contactplayers@settlement-players.org.uk

The Little Theatre
Letchworth Settlement
229 Nevells Road
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire, SG6 4UB

Audition notice for Settlement Players Absent Friends by Alan Ayckbourn

Audition notice for Settlement Players June 2024 Production

Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends
Director James Barnard
 
Audition dates:
Sunday 24th March at 8pm, Hall
Monday 25th March at 8pm, Brunt Room
Wednesday 27th March at 8pm, Hall

 
Auditions, Rehearsals and shows – All are at The Settlement. 
Letchworth Educational Settlement, 229 Nevells Road,
Letchworth Garden City, Herts, SG6 4UB


Performance dates will be Thursday 20th – Saturday 22nd June.
Technical rehearsal will be Sunday 16th June, and the dress rehearsal will be Wednesday 19th June.

Rehearsals occur on  Monday’s & Wednesday’s at 8pm and Sunday’s (times tbc)


Contact: James Barnard.
Email: barnard.james@gmail.com
Mobile: 07979 082108

This is a two act play with a cast of 6 – three female, three male. It is set in a 1970s suburban living room. Reviewing the London revival of in 2012, Kate Kellaway acknowledged a review of the 1977 original where critic Benedict Nightingale noted that the play is about the “death of love”, and added that it is also about “death by conversation”, and the occasionally dark humour of the play thoroughly explores both themes.

The play begins as Diana prepares for the arrival of Colin, a friend who has been absent from her and her friends lives; she has been worried about how to approach him following the sudden death of his fiancée, Carol. She confides in Marge that she believes her husband, Paul, has been having an affair with Evelyn. Not only is this the case, but Evelyn’s husband John is well aware of this and unwilling to do anything about it. This is only the surface of the characters’ relationship tensions and Colin’s arrival exacerbates these. Unexpectedly, Colin is very happy and philosophical about his life circumstances, but while the rest of the party are near breaking point, he follows his unshakeable belief that he knows more about others than they do about themselves to the point where he leaves his unhappily married friends devastated. Colin’s arrival triggers a set of confrontations, and the play ends with Diana pouring the cream on Paul and breaking down.

I’m looking for people of the playing ages c25 – c55. The characters are old, if not particularly close, friends, but it isn’t specified how they know each other, so it’s the interplay between the actors / characters I’m most interested in.

Diana – unhappily married to Paul, and the owner of the house in which the play is set. She is focussed on supporting Colin, probably as a means of ignoring her own despair at the state of her marriage. She is initially understated, building throughout the play to the point where she expresses all her frustrations in a typically middle-class manner, in an incident involving double cream.

Evelyn – married to John, to whom she is persistently unfaithful, not out of malice but boredom. Surly and taciturn, she is something of an outsider to the group, but this does not exclude her from Colin’s unknowing and unintended character assassination. She has fewer lines than the others, but I’m looking for someone who can convey underlying emotions with a look.

Marge – Diana’s best friend, well-meaning but tactless. She is married to the unseen (afflicted) Gordon. I’m looking for someone who can play her with the balance between irritation and likeability.

Paul – Diana’s unfaithful husband, initially an affable, if aloof, man of the house. He appears to be an exercise fanatic but it becomes clear that this, and his extramarital affairs, are a cover for his unhappiness at his life. His liaison with Evelyn was uninspiring, and he ends the play with his character firmly trashed and cream on his head.

John – Evelyn’s self-conscious, fidgety husband and Paul’s business partner. He aspires to be more like Paul, and is afraid of confrontation. He develops more of a backbone as the play progresses, but does not lose his awkwardness. He’s a fun part, with the potential for understated yet scene-stealing physical comedy.

Colin – the crux of the play, he is kind-hearted and relentlessly optimistic, with an unfortunately misplaced belief that he understands human nature and people’s interactions. He’ll be played by someone who can engender a sense of innocence, even in the face of the devastation he causes.

As I say, I’m very flexible on ages. It would be lovely to see you on one of the audition dates, but if you can’t but would still like to be involved, please let me know and we can arrange another time.

James Barnard
Director

Twelfth Night Tickets now available

Tickets for our March 14th-16th Production of Twelfth Night, or What You Will,
by William Shakespeare,

Shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Viola washes up on a strange shore. Disguising herself as a man called Cesario, Viola finds work with Duke Orsino, only to fall head over heels in love with him. But Orsino is in love with Olivia, who is grieving for her brother and refusing all offers of romance. Until, that is, she sees Cesario for the first time. Add one ambitious butler, a drunken uncle and some practical-joking servants and you have a hugely entertaining story of hoaxes, heartbreak and hidden identities.

We have streamlined our box office, so ALL seats are now available to buy either by card online at Buy Tickets – Settlement Players Settlement Players (settlement-players.co.uk) (Ticket source booking fee applies)
or at David’s Music, Eastcheap, Letchworth, (Cash Only).

Please print and bring the E Ticket or David’s Ticket to the performance. 
Please note all ticket purchases are non-refundable.

For any issues contact :contactplayers@settlement-players.org.uk

The Little Theatre
Letchworth Settlement
229 Nevells Road
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire, SG6 4UB

Twelfth Night

Tickets for our March 14th-16th Production of
Twelfth Night, or What You Will,

by William Shakespeare,
will be available from 31st January.

Performances at The Little Theatre, Letchworth Settlement Adult Education Centre, Nevells Road, SG6 4UB.

Tickets will be available on line via Ticket source and from David’s Music, Eastcheap, Letchworth.

Shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Viola washes up on a strange shore. Disguising herself as a man called Cesario, Viola finds work with Duke Orsino, only to fall head over heels in love with him. But Orsino is in love with Olivia, who is grieving for her brother and refusing all offers of romance. Until, that is, she sees Cesario for the first time. Add one ambitious butler, a drunken uncle and some practical-joking servants and you have a hugely entertaining story of hoaxes, heartbreak and hidden identities.