History

The Story So Far

SWATS started life as The South Woodham Players in the autumn of 1969. The first production was Friends & Neighbours by Austin

Steel and was performed in the South Woodham Ferrers Village Hall. Productions continued at the village hall at a rate of two a year until spring 1984, when the group relocated the then new William-de-Ferrers Centre. First production at the "Willie De" was Happiest Days Of Your Life by John Dighton and we continued at a rate of two productions a year until 1991 when we started co-producing the local pantomime with the South Woodham Ferrers Community Association. In the autumn of 1993, due to the escalating costs of performing in South Woodham Ferrers, the group moved their productions to the Cramphorn Theatre in Chelmsford. The first production at the Cramphorn was Season's Greetings by Alan Ayckbourn, productions continued at the Cramphorn at a rate of two a year. In 1995 the Community Association dropped out of the pantomime. The Players went it alone for two years, but due to rising costs and falling audiences 1996 was going to be our last pantomime. However, the gauntlet was picked up by the newly formed South Woodham Ferrers Panto Group and Peter Pan, their first production, proved successful. June 1998 once again sees "The Players" at a decision point. The Cramphorn has seen a steady increase in hire charges and a steady decrease

in audiences (not just for us). The group also felt that they had lost their identity by not performing in their local community. Consequently, the group decided to

return to South Woodham Ferrers with the next production being at our original home the South Woodham Ferrers Village Hall in November 1998. With a successful production marking our return to South Woodham Ferrers the group is fired with enthusiasm. Ironically the Panto Group is being run by members of The Players anyway. Therefore at the AGM the majority of the group agreed with the representation from the Panto Group, that it made more sense to bring the pantomime back into the group. May 1999 and yet another milestone for the group, our first musical. Not your full blown Gilbert and Sullivan style show, more of a play with some song and dance numbers. Two years later, May 2001, and collaboration with a youth group sees the group put on Little Shop of Horrors, our first full blown musical. A throwaway comment in April 2008 sees an idea develop to re-brand the group with a name that lent itself to a memorable acronym. An extraordinary general meeting in May saw the group vote to change the name to South Woodham Amateur Theatre Society or SWATS for short with the group being re-launched after the July production.

Past Productions

Year	Title	Author
1969	Friends & Neighbours	Austin Steel
1970	I'll Get My Man	Philip King
	Something To Hide	Leslie Sands
1971	Key Witness	Michael Brett
	Flat Spin	Derek Stanley Royle
1972	Brush With A Body	Maurice McLoughlin
	A Letter From A General	Maurice McLoughlin
1973	Wild Goose Chase	Derek Benfield
	The Militants	Norman N Holland & Norman Norwood
1974	Wanted One Body	Raymond Dyer
	The Right Honourable Gentleman	M Bradley-Dyre
1975	A Month Of Sundays	Bob Larbey
	Suddenly At Home	Francis Durbridge
1976	Doctor In The House	Richard Gordon
	How The Other Half Loves	Alan Ayckbourn
1977	Who Says Murder	Philip King
	Not Now Darling	Ray Cooney
1978	An Inspector Calls	J. B. Priestley
	No Time For Fig Leaves	Duncan Greenwood
1979	Murder Mistaken	Janet Green
	Habeas Corpus	Alan Bennett
1980	Living Together	Alan Ayckbourn
	I Am A Camera	John Van Druten
1981	Tell Tale Murder	Philip Weathers
	Curious Savage	John Patrick
1982	Pardon Me Prime Minister	Edward Taylor
	Blithe Spirit	Noel Coward
1983	Lord Arthur Savile's Crime	Constance Cox
	Ten Time Table	Alan Ayckbourn
1984	Happiest Days Of Your Life	John Dighton
	Laughter 'N' Tears
1985	Tom Jones	Joan MacAlpine, based on the novel by Henry Fielding
	Billy Liar	Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall
1986	Outside Edge	Richard Harris
	More Laughter 'N' Tears
1987	Hobson's Choice	Harold Brighouse
	Season's Greetings	Alan Ayckbourn
1988	The Ghost Train	Arnold Ridley
	Laughter 'N' Tears III
1989	Noises Off	Michael Frayn
	Pack Of Lies	Hugh Whitemore
1990	Bedroom Farce	Alan Ayckbourn
	Keeping Down With The Joneses	John Chapman and Jeremy Lloyd
1991	Beyond Reasonable Doubt	Geoffrey Archer
	Key For Two	John Chapman
	Sleeping Beauty	John Morley
1992	A Small Family Business	Alan Ayckbourn
	Abigail's Party	Mike Leigh
	Rumpelstilzkin	John Morley
1993	Local Affairs	Richard Harris
	Season's Greetings	Alan Ayckbourn
	Tom The Piper's Son	John Morley
1994	84 Charing Cross Road	Helene Hanff, adapted for the stage by James Roose-Evans
	Blue Remembered Hills	Dennis Potter
	Jack And The Beanstalk	Tony Mandara
1995	Out Of Order	Ray Cooney
	Separate Tables	Terence Rattigan
	Mother Goose	John Morley
1996	Outside Edge	Richard Harris
	An Evening With Gary Lineker	Arthur Smith and Chris England
	Cinderella	John Morley
1997	Billy Liar	Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall
	Blithe Spirit	Noel Coward
1998	Sextet	Michael Pertwee
	South Hollywoodham	Jim Bayliss and Gary Press
	The Wizard Of Oz	John Morley
1999	The End Of The Pier Show	Roger Parsley and Duncan Lane
	Anybody For Murder	Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner
2000	Babes In Woodham	Tony Mandara
	They Came From Mars And Landed Outside The Farndale Avenue Church Hall In Time For The Townswomen's Guild's Coffee Morning	David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr
	Will You Still Love Me In The Morning?	Brian Clemens and Dennis Spooner
2001	Aladdin	John Crocker
	Little Shop Of Horrors	Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Music by Alan Menken
	Bold Girls	Rona Monro
2002	Snow White	Norman Robbins
	Out Of Order	Ray Cooney
	Shakers Re-Stirred	John Godber and Jane Thornton
2003	Dick Whittington	Jim Sperinck
	Educating Rita	Willy Russell
2004	Sleeping Beauty	Norman Robbins
	The Odd Couple (Female Version)	Neil Simon
	Fringe Benefits	Peter Yeldham and Donald Churchill
2005	Red Riding Hood	Norman Robbins
	Out Of Sight... Out Of Murder	Fred Carmichael
	'Allo 'Allo	Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft
2006	Little Miss Muffet	Paul Reakes
	Pack Of Lies	Hugh Whitemore
	Absurd Person Singular	Alan Ayckbourn
2007	Wizard Of Woodham	Alistair Clinton, adapted by Debs Watson
	Three Doors To Death (Murder At Harley Dee's)	Keith Jackson, adapted by Jan Rook
	Absent Friends	Alan Ayckbourn
2008	Trouble In Pantoland	Sharon Hulm
	Teechers	John Godber
	Murder At Oscar Knight's Dinner
	Jack And The Beanstalk	Limelight Scripts
2009	House of Secrets	Peter McKeley
	Hi De Hi	Jimmy Perry and David Croft
	Babes In The Wood	Limelight Scripts
2010	Confusions	Alan Ayckbourn
	Free And Easy	Bill Cronshaw
	Murder At Meddleton Manor
	Beauty And The Beast	Limelight Scripts
2011	Waiting for Gordon	Derek Webb
	Smalls Talk	Sue & Clive Reed
	Neville's Island	Tim Firth
	King Arthur	Limelight Scripts
2012	The Haunting of Hill House	F Andrew Leslie
	Don't Forget Your Gas Mask	Trevor Hughes
	Murder at Fleecem Village Psychic Fayre	John Henry
	Treasure Island	Toby Bradford and Tina Webster
2013	Stage Struck	John and Yvonne Eddlestone

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