Recent and Past Productions

Out of Sight, Out of Murder
by Fred Carmichael
December 2019

When we read a book, we often speak of the author’s ability to bring the characters to life almost as if they are jumping off the pages. But what if they really did come to life and take over all the action? This is the delightful premise of “Out of Sight, Out of Murder’ written by Fred Carmichael the latest play by Attic Theatre. With a sinister, isolated mansion, dramatic thunder and lightening and a cast of nine truly dodgy characters, any one of whom could be the killer, this play has all the ingredients for an entertaining evening! Some characters revel in their villainy invading the authors mind. Others just want to be free! Who has the mean and motive? Whose charming exterior conceals the black heart of a killer? When will the unexpected guest arrive? All these questions create a magical mystery interwoven through twists and turns of humour.

This Attic Players production directed by Clare Littleton together with her team of creative talented cast and crew left the audience guessing and laughing until the very end!

The Thrill of Love by Amanda Whittington – April 2019

The Attic Players spring 2019 production was ‘The Thrill of Love’  by Amanda Whittington. The play tells the true story of Ruth Ellis and her tragic descent into despair, culminating in the shooting of her lover David Blakely in April 1955. Ruth Ellis was found guilty of murder, and was hanged on July 13th 1955, the last woman to be executed in Britain.

 The cast and crew studied a huge amount of information about the case, alongside the script, which is particularly stylised and departs from convention, and the company worked hard to give our audiences an authentic perspective of the period. We were pleased to hear many positive reactions after the performances, and hope we encouraged thoughtful consideration about what was a tragedy at the time, and still causes debate today.

Power and Petticoats by Melanie Davies – August 2018

Power and Petticoats was a brand new piece of work conceived and created by members of the Attic Players, written and directed by Melanie Davies during summer 2018.

Melanie says, “The piece grew out of my long held interest in women’s struggle for the vote and how lucky I am to have the opportunity to fulfil my ambition with Attic Players. Power and Petticoats is full of energy and fizz.  It is a very entertaining show that shines a light on a time when so many people were questioning why half the population of Britain didn’t have a vote. You will hear many voices from that time from kitchen maids to politicians, from the rich to the poor, from those with and those without power. We can’t wait to get on that stage!”

The resulting play was an engaging, witty and inventive period drama woven around true stories of women’s struggle for the vote.

The Iris Film Festival – Changes – 2018

Changes is a short film created by the Attic Players in collaboration with the Iris Outreach team  as part of the Iris in the Community project. Members of the Players developed a film concept which was written as a screenplay by Branwen Munn, Suzanne Munn and Melanie Davies.  The filming was all done in a single, hectic, 10 hour shoot during February 2018 at Gwesty’r Porth in Llandysul (thank you SO MUCH to Rhodri, Sarah and all the staff at the Porth for their generous support of the project).  The footage was edited by Branwen and Beth Woolley during the following months. Branwen added a few special effects, colour grading and some original music in time for the film to be screened at a special LGBT Film Evening hosted by the Players at the Attic Theatre in July 2018.  Changes was shown alongside a carefully selected programme of other LGBT films, including Darkness, a film created by students from Ysgol Gyfun Emlyn as part of the Iris Education Outreach.

Thanks to the Iris project, members of the Attic Players enjoyed a wide range of experiences, from writing a film, to shooting a film (both sides of the camera!), and coordinating a mini Film Festival.

London Wall – Summer 2017

In summer 2017 the Attic Players presented “London Wall” by John Van Druten, being the first period drama to be produced by the Players for some years. The play is set in a firm of solicitors in 1931, at a time when there were 2.7 million unemployed in the UK and shows the situation many women faced: a life of low-wage drudgery in offices, from which matrimony offered the only escape.”London Wall” was passionately directed by Melanie Davies who lead a cast of experienced and newer members alike through the challenges of staging a play containing such detail and complexity. A beautifully realistic set was created by Melanie and her backstage team which provided an evocative backdrop for the dynamic cast who gave their all for our appreciative audiences.

Blood on Canvas – 2017

‘Blood on Canvas’ is a gripping drama with a cast of two: Justine Dodd has been seen in several Attic productions, as well as directing the very successful ‘Woman in Mind’ earlier in 2016. Branwen Munn is probably better known for her skill in sound design and video and lighting effects. Although she was seen in 2015 as the Lady of the Lake in ‘King Arthur’, this was a very different role for her!

Our audiences seemed to really enjoy the variety offered by the two plays and we hope to host a similar multi-play production in the future.

Woman in Mind – 2016

The Attic Players kicked off 2016 with a stunning production of Alan Ayckbourn’s tragi-comedy “Woman in Mind (December Bee)”, with Justine Dodd making her directorial debut.

At the very centre of this moving piece is the character of Susan – one of Ayckbourn’s most challenging and complex roles – who played by relative newcomer to the Attic Players, Melanie Davies. Regular Attic audience members may have recognised Melanie from Wyrd Sisters in 2015, although the part of Susan was VERY different! Melanie’s professional theatre experience shone through in the role. Justine said she relished the challenge of bringing the play to the Attic stage, and from the glowing audience responses after each performance it’s fair to say she met the challenge with spectacular results!

Thanks to a kind donation by the ever-supportive Emlyn Circle CIC, the Players were able to purchase a short-throw projector which was utilised to great effect alongside the existing projector by lighting and sound technician Branwen Munn who, as usual, pushed the technology of our little theatre to it’s limits!

We hope you, our audiences, were as wowed by the exceptional calibre of the cast’s performances and the technical wizardry employed in this production.

Curtain Up – Summer 2015

“The hilarious story of five women who inherit equal shares in a dilapidated theatre and plan to bring it back to life again. They try various fund-raising schemes but their most ambitious is to hold a concert featuring local talent and a world-famous star who agrees to appear for no fee. However, their plans go awry and it’s a race to keep their audience from guessing what is really going on…”

We very much enjoyed our 2015 summer production, Peter Quilter’s comedy “Curtain Up!”. Though she had only been with the company for a short while, Tracey Huggins worked incredibly hard in her directorial debut and created a fantastic show along with the dedicated and energetic cast and crew. “Curtain Up!” played to nearly full houses every night, the theatre filled with the laughter of appreciative audiences.

Noises Off – August 2015

Doors! Sardines! Flowers! Tax demand! Words you wouldn’t normally expect to see in the same sentence but typical, everyday words that were heard on the Attic stage during our adventurous production of  Michael Frayn’s ‘Noises Off’.

Onstage in the Attic Theatre end August/early September 2014, Noises Off was a challenging farce-within-a-farce: a fast, frenetic and hilariously funny romp featuring an impressive ensemble cast, directed bravely by Elaine Thomspon. Audiences laughed their way through all three acts of non-stop comedy, as the cast enjoyed a two-and-a-half hour work out, dashing around Winston Munn’s amazing set with seemingly endless props which were skilfully managed by Jenni Steer and Tracey Huggins.