site search by freefind advanced

 Connecting professional and amateur theatre in Newbury, West Berkshire and beyond

≡

Boundary Players
Boundary Players

The Boundary Players web site is at www.boundaryplayers.co.uk. Facebook.

Last production

Where

The William Penney Theatre, Tadley RG7 4PR, inside AWE at Aldermaston. Click here for a map. The entrance to the theatre can be found on the A340 Basingstoke to Newbury road, just before the Heath End Roundabout at Tadley. There is ample free car parking next to the theatre.

Box office

07756 141734, or via the web site.

Review of Play On!

26th to 29th November 2025

Review from the Newbury Weekly News.

Hilarious farce played with straight faces

Play On! A comedy by Rick Abbot was chosen by Boundary Players for their autumn production.

It’s a hilarious farce as an amateur theatre group, this time called ‘Noddol Players’ attempt to put on a production of Murder Most Foul! And in three acts: a rehearsal, the dress rehearsal and the first night, everything that can go wrong does go wrong!

They’ve chosen the play because it’s written by a friend of Polly (playing a pompous aristocrat) and Phyllis, the playwright, creates havoc interrupting rehearsals and re-writing parts of the play! Overseeing the action, and trying to maintain control is Tracy Maher, the Director. Tracy convincingly captured the frustration and anger of her character, Gerry.

There’s laughs aplenty as Neil Pagden comically aims his barbs to a touchy Polly; a very funny performance from Sophie McConville. Clair Webb turned in a beautifully nuanced performance as Matty (the maid in the play within the play) constantly missing her cues and performing like “a deer in the headlights!”

Playing younger members of the cast, Emily Browne as Violet and Nick Chester as Billy Carewe shared the sofa and calamitous embraces in many hilarious moments.

This was a great ensemble piece of theatre and making a crisis look like a crisis while maintaining pace and a coherent storyline is a challenge that Boundary rose to magnificently. The set was well crafted and lavishly decorated to represent an aristocrat’s drawing room (for the third act). In the first sets, there was a partially constructed set.

Under Steve Schollar’s direction, the cast performed this very funny farce straight and therefore this made the humour even funnier. The tech team were kept busy with mistimed telephone calls, incorrect sound effects and construction noise.

This kind of comedy can be difficult to pull off but Boundary Players did it admirably well.

CHRIS HORTON

Previous productions