The Chatsworth Players’ 16th season will be their most ambitious yet, with three very different shows across the spring, summer, and autumn. The spring production in the Theatre at Chatsworth House will be musical favourite, My Fair Lady, directed by Christine Heery with musical direction by Andrew Marples. In the summer, Lindsay Jackson will direct Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which will be performed outdoors at various venues around Derbyshire. They will round out their season in the autumn with an award-winning modern play, Our Country’s Good, directed by Maggie Ford.
The Chatsworth Players are jumping into the new season with tremendous momentum from their success in 2023. Their productions of The Importance of Being Earnest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Steel Magnolias, all received terrific reviews from the critics, and their production of Steel Magnolias, together with their one-off Old Time Music Hall, raised £1642 for Diabetes UK.
They have also picked up some new supporters for the 2024 season, including a Local Projects Grant from Derbyshire District Council and sponsorship from Lovedays Solicitors, who have offices in Matlock, Wirksworth, and Bakewell.
My Fair Lady will be performed at the Theatre at Chatsworth House onl 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, and 20 April. The Players produced their first musical, Into the Woods, at Chatsworth House in October 2021 and it was a great success. They are now working a musical into their regular programming and hope to produce one every other year. The size of the stage at Chatsworth can make it quite difficult, but the Players have never been a group to shrink from a challenge.
The Chatsworth Players began in 2008 under the direction of Sylvia Jackson, a retired professional actress and director who had recently moved to Bakewell. She was approached by Chatsworth House to consult on the feasibility of making the theatre usable, and from there she decided to form a group to perform at the house. She wanted to gather people from various groups across the area to perform something more challenging, that a single group would not be able to tackle on its own. In the spring of that year the Players took Arthur Miller’s The Crucible to many surrounding village halls and culminated the tour with a performance at the Theatre at Chatsworth House. They have been going strong ever since. They often sell out, so make sure you buy tickets early to avoid disappointment.
For tickets and more info visit the Player’s website: www.chatsworth players.com. My Fair Lady tickets £17.50, Twelfth Night at various open-air venues, 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21 July, tickets are £12.50. Our Country’s Good will run in November, venues, dates, and tickets TBC.