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A Potted History
Are you sitting comfortably? Then let us begin. Once upon a time there was a lady living in Chorleywod who had produced many shows for numerous societies, and in lots of different venues. However, there was one show which had escaped her; this was ‘The King and I’. Deciding that something must be done, she put advertisements in the local news papers asking anyone interested to attend a meeting at her house one day in April in 1988. This lady, sadly now deceased, was called Betty Waddy – she was later to become Panda’s founder president. It took all summer to get organised but eventually the date was set, venue booked, the show cast and rehearsals got underway. Betty was a great animal lover and decided that all profits were to go to the World Wild Life Fund for Nature, so all costs had to be kept to a minimum. The name Panda Players came about because of the connection to the WWF. It is to the credit of everyone associated with this first production that a cheque for the sum of £1400 was presented to the WWF.
Buoyed by this success, many members voted that the company should stay together to do another show. ‘Kiss Me Kate’ was Betty’s choice this time and she decided to go for broke and hire the Elgiva Theatre for the performances. After this at the request of the Elgiva management Panda did a repeat of their first show, ‘The King and I’. The opening night raised £1000 for the St. Francis Hospice. The next production was ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’, rarely performed by amateur companies because of the difficulty in attracting men onto the stage, particularly young men! Undaunted Panda advertised in the local papers and lo and behold there were men. Perhaps one or two weren’t exactly young, but make-up and stage lights can work wonders! The lads, some of whom had never been on stage before, worked really hard through the long hot summer, they rehearsed and rehearsed and built scenery into the bargain! A local paper noted the “This production held several lessons for other companies” – Panda was definitely making its mark.
After the next two shows ‘Charlie Girl’ and ‘The Boyfriend’ Betty felt it was time for a parting of the ways, but the committee decided to try and keep Panda going. Jim Snell a very experienced producer was engaged and ‘Half a Sixpence’ went into production under the musical baton of John Morrell. It was an honour when Frankie Vaughan agreed to be Honorary Vice President and remained so until his death. Stella his wife now holds the position.
‘Oklahoma’ at the Amersham Community Centre was followed by an Old time Music Hall. At this stage the committee decided to change the timing of the main show from July to February in an effort to avoid the hot holiday periods and hopefully sell more tickets. Also at this point Jan Samuel was asked to produce for us and Panda hasn’t looked back since.
There was a point when it looked as though ‘South Pacific’ wouldn’t go ahead, again due to a shortage of men. But go ahead it did and with a full complement of men! ‘Chicago’ came next in 1998 and here Panda had a great stroke of luck. Having obtained the licence just before the show came into the West End, we were allowed to go ahead. It is most unusual to perform a show that is running in London, and Panda benefited from all the publicity the professional show was getting. The NODA report called it “a first class production” and it was, many people enjoyed it more than the West End version.Jan then produced the ‘Hot Mikado’ which was performed at the newly built Elgiva Theatre which was a great improvement on the old one. Next came ‘Sweet Charity’ which was a real success both with audiences and the NODA rep. “A top quality show from a group of people who work so well together and really seem to have fun doing it - what more could you want?
At the AGM in Sept. 2000, Helen Turner was invited to become President of the Panda Players. A founder member and Chairman for eight years, Helen was delighted to accept the position. ‘Annie Get Your Gun’ in 2001 was a superb production, with Jan producing and Susana Castellot as musical director. ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ again raised the old age problem of not having enough men, but we made it eventually and this was followed by ‘Guys and Dolls’ in 2003.
With a house move to Wales imminent, Jan Samuel produced her last show for Panda in 2004, and persuaded the committee to put on ‘Once Upon a Mattress’, the musical story of The Princess and the Pea. A brave choice, not widely known, but much enjoyed by all, particularly families with younger children. Our leading lady, Carey Mulligan, went from our rehearsals to the film production of Pride and Prejudice, performing opposite Keira Knightly and has since been in numerous TV productions.
In 2005, it was ‘Half a Sixpence’, directed by David Martin, himself an experienced local actor and singer. This was a wonderful show for all concerned and our leading man, Adam Hepkin, playing Kipps, was nominated for best male performer by NODA. He has since been touring with Bill Kenwrights production of’ Joseph and his Technicolor Dream coat’. Another brave choice by Panda in 2006 saw us perform ‘Jack the Ripper’. Directed by Trish Lewis, a member and talented performer, it was a different show, but thoroughly enjoyable.
David Martin was back in 2007 to produce’ Thoroughly Modern Millie’ - we were one of the first groups to get the performing rights following a West End production, so we had a lot to live up to – and we did! It was an overwhelming success, even at the box- office. Joanne Day, as Millie, played her first leading lady role for Panda, having been a member for ten years, and received rave reviews. Many lady members learned a bit of ‘tap’ just for the office scenes!
Trish Lewis directed ‘Pippin’ for us in 2008. This show, which is relatively unknown in the UK, but is one of the longest running in the US, was musically written by Stephen Swartz, who also wrote ‘God spell’, ‘Children of Eden’ and ‘Wicked’. It was a fabulous show to put on, and Mathew Collyer as Pippin, was outstanding.
“Pride and Prejudice” was the choice in 2009 and David Martin once again put on a fantastic production. Helen and Frances excelled themselves in the Costume Department and the ladies had some wonderful dresses to wear. In 2010 we raided the wardrobe for our 1996 “Oklahoma” outfits as we once again donned our gingham and cowboy hats for “Calamity Jane”. We welcomed a new director, Amber Ould and a new musical director, Andrew Cowburn who both did a marvellous job and fitted into the company perfectly. A ‘whip-cracking’ time was had by all and once again we had a very positive NODA review.
In between all these wonderful shows Panda have also produced some exciting concerts such as ‘Old Time Music Hall’, ‘Rendezvous at Regines’, ‘Songs my Mother Taught Me’, ‘American Adventure’, ‘Pandamonium’, and ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ , all often produced by members raising much needed funds for the society. Over the last few years a larger concert has been replaced with a smaller ‘Concert Group’ of members performing short programmes of about an hour at various venues in the local area. This has been very successful, both financially and musically and we hope that it will continue.
Over time, the Panda Players have become known as a very friendly society. The Committee are dedicated to keeping members happy and the company successful both artistically and financially. Many friends have been made - some remain as patrons or honorary members of the society. Panda is a wonderful company and we hope you will enjoy many shows with us.
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