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Promotional photoshoot for Ben Hur

17/2/2022

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Few rehearsals have resulted in some fabulous photoshoots for as many of the Ben Hur actors as could attend the shoots at Brixham Theatre last Sunday after rehearsals. Photos by Laura Jury at the South Devon Players and Paul at Brixham Theatre

Tickets are on sale at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/box-office.html for Brixham Theatre and all other show venues. 
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December 12th, 2021

12/12/2021

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​Some of the Roman swords and shields and helmets arrived today for our theatre production of Ben Hur- and will be prepared for the show over the next little while.
Many thanks to funding from Tesco community fund via Groundwork.
Getting reenactment gear wherever possible is brilliant for us with historical- set shows because it can add a brilliant dimension of realism to the show as well as an educational dimension for learning about historical aspects for both actors and audiences.
#theatre #acting #actors #Romans #brixham #tescocommunityfund #benhur #devon #regionaltheatre #britishtheatre #actorslife #stageproduction
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Fabulous news from Tescos Bags For Help

16/6/2021

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We are thrilled and incredibly grateful to Tesco Bags of Help/ Tesco Community Grants, for confirming today that they will contribute £1,000 contractually ringfenced for our production of Ben Hur over the coming year, specifically contributing to costumes, props, and making involvement more accessible for local people. A final usage report of the specific use of the funds will be made to Tesco Bags of Help will be available on our website, in the fundraising section, in due course. ​
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Sir Walter's Women - coming Saturday Nov 28th (a look behind the scenes)

26/11/2020

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We had all the usual fun - when gathering to put work together online, you have all kinds of issues - after all our actors and crew are all working with whatever computer or phone devices they have at home, and a chroma greenscreen that cost £10 on ebay - or a plain wall, to project the digital backdrops. So things like dropped internet signal, intermittant microphones which continued to resist every bit of techincal tweaking and toubleshooting, aand similar challenges, meant that we decided in order to provide a reliable performance, to pre-record this performance. 


And so, after overcoming a selection of challenges peculiar to digitally producing Tudor era theatre, we are delighted to be looking forward to the streaming of our latest digital theatre offering, Sir Walter's Women, by writer Rachel O Neill. 

As in the synopsis of our BOX OFFICE, (yes where tickets are available if you havent got one yet!) 
This is a one-act drama about the life of Sir Walter Raleigh as he manoeuvres his status as a favourite of Elizabeth I to satisfy his political ambitions. Into the Court arrives Bess Throckmorton. They fall in love and marry in secret, to the great and lasting displeasure of the Queen. The Queen dies and the envious James I comes to power and the play ends with Sir Walter's incarceration, trial and execution.

It has proven a busy and challenging week getting the production ready, but it is now all ready and our cast & crew - not to mention the author of course - cant wait for you to enjoy it over the weekend.  

As with all our shows, every penny from ticket sales is used to pay our actors and crew - each recieves an equal share. So with your ticket purchases, you are also helping keep amazing, talented, professional creatives in work, during the hardest times that the theatre industry has ever faced.  THANK YOU!!
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The edits themselves have been kept very simple, to allow for an experience as close to a live  digital  performance as possible. In our live performances, we always use scene title cards between scenes, to allow time for the actors to change backdrops, costumes or anything else. We continued that tradition, and the only other edit was to boost and equalise the sound from one cast members microphone, which had an intermittant volume drop that no amount of system tweaks could rectify.
The scenes were then dropped together in a simple edit and rendered out. The down side is that it is not live. The plus side is that less things like dropped signals or unexpected tech malfunctions  can happen. 

Twelve months ago, we would have never thought of creating or streaming performance in this way, but with the pandemic, we were determined to keep working and keep creating. Using Zoom to create theatre and keep working was the only safe way to do this. We can't wait to get back to the physical stage, and we have some really exciting projects coming up for when we can get back to touring, but we are also keeping busy in the meantime. Thanks to an amazing bunch of people!
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Introducing Some of the characters in 1307

19/6/2018

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This is an overview of some of the characters who appear in 1307. Some of our cast play more than one character and therefore the character cards focus on just one of those characters.
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A historical personage, De Nogaret was Keeper of the Seal to King Phillip IV of France.

A cunning and astute statesman, De Nogaret was involved in a number of medieval conspiracies, including a conspiracy against Pope Boniface VIII by King Phillip and his succession by Pope Clement V. 
He was also instrumental in the conspiracies against the Knights Templar, between 1307 and his death in 1313, and is credited with launching many of the investigations into their alleged "heresy".

De Nogaret died in 1313 in mysterious circumstances.


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Roger Flors is a historical personage with a controversial past. Originally a Templar knight in Acre, in 1291, Roger Flors was in command of the Templars flagship, the Falcon, and during the siege of Acre, he is said to broken ranks with the Order, and to have charged the wealthy citizens seeking escape, huge amounts of money, in order to take them from the city by sea, leaving the poorer citizens, and indeed his own fellow Templars, behind.

Following this action, he was expelled from the Knights Templar, and following further intrigues, he was excommunicated and denounced as an apostate. He went on to command a fleet for Charles of Naples, and later appeared in Genoa as a pirate.
He clearly did quite well for himself as he eventually married a Byzantine princess - but success did not last forever. 
Roger Flors was assassinated in Adraianople (modern day Edirne in East Thrace), in 1305.

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Isolda is a fictional character, who is representative of what would have been the life of many more well-to-do unmarried medieval women. As the crusades failed, Isolda's father was a secular knight killed in the battle to take the island of Ruad. She therefore became the ward of those entrusted by her father, until such time as she find a suitable husband of similar status, to marry, with her inheritance held in trust to be made over when she marries. 
In Isoldas case this means she is a ward of John Conningham at the Bristol Temple. When news of the arrests in France comes, and then the threat of the arrests spreading to England, the pragmatic Isolda is naturally extremely worried. Without her inheritance, she loses much of her eligibility for a wealthy marriage, and with the fact that the holdings and properties of those convicted of heresy - like the Templars, would legally either be taken by the Church or the King, the loss of her inheritance, held in trust by the Templars, is a very real threat. 
Eventually, she has to make a choice....

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 Introducing Rich Sandford as John Conningham and Guillaume de Beaujeu - a versatile actor, Rich portrays both historical personages, at different points in the show.
Guillaume de Beaujeu was the 21st Grand Master of the Knights Templar. Having joined the Order at the age of 20, he became Grandmaster in 1273, an office he retained until his death in 1291. Related to both King Louis IX of France and Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily, he was a leader who was not afraid to make decisions unpopular with his peers; in order to preserve what remained of the Crusader kingdom in the East, he sought to maintain diplomatic relations with the Mamluks in the south and the Mongols in the north. Following the death of the Mamluk Sultan Kalawun, and attacks on Muslim traders in Acre by crusaders newly arrived from the west, served to finally break the fragile truce, leading to the final attack on the crusader port city of Acre in 1291. Guillaume de Beaujeu was killed during the siege.
John Conningham is a much less known character, appearing listed in inquisition documents simply as a senior Templar who had spent over 30 years in the Order, arrested at a Somerset preceptory in 1308, as the Papal suppression of the order across Europe spread to England. 
The Templars holdings in Somerset, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall, related to farming, although the Templars had extensive holdings in Bristol (remains of their church, and echos of their presence in numerous place and street names, can be explored now) and had contributed to the building of the docks, as a major trading port. The more rural farm holdings most commonly related to sheep farming, the funds raised serving, in the Templars heyday, to contribute to maintaining the costs of the fighters in the East. 
As he is listed as the longest serving Templar of those arrested in Somerset, we have made a leap of assumption and in our production his character becomes Preceptor of Bristol and Templecombe

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Valentina is a fictional character, but representative of personages of the time. A wealthy Venetian merchant in Acre, she flees the city with Roger Flors when the attack on the city comes. In Acre, a crusader port city, the Venetians were one faction of powerful merchants within the city.
After a historically documented incident where western crusaders, newly arrived in Acre attacked Muslim residents, some of whom were only saved from the rioting by the intervention of the Templars, Valentina is among those who blocks the surrender of the guilty parties to the Muslim sultan for punishment, as counselled by the Templars in order to preserve a shaky truce protecting the city from attack
At odds with the Templars after this, Valentina begins to suspect that the Templars may have thier own secrets, and begins to search for more information, hoping to at the very minimum increase her own wealth and influence.
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King Philip IV is a pivotal historical personage in the production - and indeed in the history of the demise of the Templars. 
King of France from the age of 17, King Philip incurred huge debts for France with wars against England, and Flanders, as well as inheriting a large national debt from his father. In his own right, he also became deeply embroiled in Papal intrigues and plots surrounding the Catholic Church, forcing Pope Clement V to reside in France rather than in Rome. 
King Phillips plots, and debts, finally led him to target the Knights Templar, who although a monastic order of warrior monks individually sworn to poverty, were enormously rich as an organisation. In conjunction with Pope Clement and his own advisor's such as Guillaume de Nogaret , he set in motion the demise of the Templars, ordering their arrests on accusations of heresy against the Church. 
It is said that even as he was present at the execution of the Templar Grandmaster Jacques de Molay, the doomed Grandmaster cursed him; and King Philip died the following year.
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Jacques De Molay, is probably the most famous historical character in the production. The son of a noble family in Burgandy, France. Little is known of his early career as a Templar; he is believed to have joined the Order at the age of 21. Debates rage for and against as to whether he was present at the fall of Acre in 1291, although he was believed to have been in the East from around 1270 onwards for at least 20 years, before being elected as Grand Master of the Order in around 1293. 
In 1306, De Molay travelled to France for a meeting with King Philip, the Pope, the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, and other dignitaries, but plots within the French court framed both De Molay, and the entire order of the Knights Templar for heresy, and on Friday October 13th 1307, secret orders were opened across France, seeing the arrests of the Templars at all locations. 
Under torture, confessions were extracted in the ensuing inquisition. and following many other executions and plots, On March 18th 1317, Jacques de Molay, and two other members of the Order were burned at the stake in Paris as unrepentant heretics, by the orders of King Philip "the Fair".
The conspiracies between, and within, both Church and State, that led to the demise of the Templars have given rise to myriads of theories. Were the Templars really heretics, or guardians of suppressed knowledge not in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church? Or was their demise simply engineered by those who were deeply in financial debt to the Order? Theories and legends abound. 
Our theatre production can only explore some of those theories

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Ann Martel is a fictional character. Originally from Bristol, and widowed at the 1291 siege of Acre, Ann is a tough independent woman who returns to Britain, running her own tavern at the Bristol docks. 
In a society where women were traditionally often seen as second-class citizens, Ann does not re-marry, but carves out her own life through thick and thin. 
Having been rescued from Acre by the Templars, among those surviving citizens rescued as the city fell, in the last ship, Ann is grateful to, and has a sort sport for the secretive knights, and as the dangers increase to the Templars, she comes to do what she can to help them escape the inquisitors.
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Hughes is a fictional character. Dedicated to the Temple, and taciturn, having spent his whole life in the Order,  Hughes is a a trusted member of the Grand Masters council, and privy to many of the Orders deepest secrets. One of the few survivors among the Templars from Acre, and following the arrests at the Paris Temple, one of only two members of the Grand Masters council still free, Hughes is one of those charged with concealing artefacts and secrets belonging to the Temple.
His character is almost broken by this charge, as he learns more about the inner knoweldge of the Temple, while also having to keep it safe, and seeing the Order, to which he had sworn his life, collapse around him.
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Arthur is a fictional character, a young knight, newly initiated and still settling within the Order, but already well trusted by his more senior peers, at the Bristol preceptory.
He is a local boy from a wealthy family, who joined the Temple, and from his life in the countryside is as skilled in working with horses, as he is as a warrior. When tested by the most unexpected and difficult circumstances, Arthur proves equal to the task, standing staunchly alongside the Templars still free as they race ahead of the Inquisitors, and with the appearance of youthful inexperience, has a greater chance of getting past the inquisitors than the older members of the Order.

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A fictional character, Margery is a young girl growing up in Bristol. She is friends with, possibly a little more than friends, with the young Templar knight Arthur. While both she and Arthur know that with his monastic vows, nothing can come of thier relationship, they are young, enthusiastic, and prone to getting into trouble.
Unfortunately, as the inquisitors close in,  more dangerous and manipulative people have already noticed and see to take any advantage to bring the Temple into further disrepute
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A fictional character.
The common belief and indeed stated modus-operandi, of the Templars is that women were not permitted in the Order. However, there is research in existence which controversially suggest this may not have always been the case. 
Angelo has lived with the Order since childhood, and has always appeared to the others as a man, Angelo.  Angelo has become a member of the Grand Masters council, and alongside Hughes is sent from the Paris Temple when the arrests come, to conceal the Orders secrets.
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Mordred - film stills

8/4/2018

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Editing for our film Mordred, telling the story of King Arthurs illegitimate son, based on early legends, continues. Its taking a long while as it is happening around everyones day jobs etc. But in the meantime, we have some new stills from footage filmed by the team in Cornwall at Pengersick Castle...
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Assassins Creed fight show

28/10/2017

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A new "take" on showteam shows was trialled on Thursday. Some years back we had our Three Musketeers showteam, which is still something which can be resurrected. But in the meantime through a series of events - an afternoon of impromptu fight show between Laura and Anth, back in the summer, and then the fact that a number of our performers are Assassins Creed fans, the natural thing happened.

And the Assassins Creed-theme showteam was born, we decided to put together a fight show for the final Brixham Buccaneers Pirate Thursdays. This is a charity, volunteer-run annual series of family friendly events - mainly pirate, but they often want different entertainment, and we work with them a lot.

Lucius, Steve, Ray, Laura and Rich created the final performance. It went so well than we have been asked back for the Pirate Thursdays next summer!

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A successful weekend of external bookings

2/10/2017

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A busy weekend of external jobs is now past, with great feedback.

On Friday evening, Steve, Lucius, Laura and Rhia were booked to be the in-character entertainers at a medieval banquet for Hatherleigh Primary School  raising funds for their woodland area. So, Lord and Lady Bloodraven, along side Lord Redvers man at arms and Lady Eleanor Belstone (yes, using all local names!) alongside some other actors  created a rolling drama of a stolen jewel, a drunken Jester who took religion after some time spent in the stocks. Unusually for us, this was not a strict historical period, and more generic in its medieval theme, so we had a lot more latitude than we normally allow ourselves!

Feedback from one of the organisers who booked us:
"Thank you sooo much one and all. Well all of the guests adored "the actors". I do feel without you all there, it would not have been a success"

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Then, on Saturday, we had our second engagement, six of our lovely team booked as 1960s hippies, for the Ageing Well 2017 festival at Lupton House near Brixham . A great day of handing out flowers to people arriving, filling the front of the house with bubbles, dancing, and welcoming the event guests.
Again, great feedback from the organizers
"You really made me feel I was back in the 60s thank you so much for your hard work on the day. I could feel the love in the air"


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The Three Musketeers pantomime dates announced for Brixham

16/9/2017

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The Three Musketeers is an action packed, family pantomime, touring in Jan 2018. Based on the classic swashbuckling novel by Alexandre Dumas, this panto tells this classical tale set in the 17th Century French royal court, and how a young man from the country joins the royal guards, while foiling a plot to depose the King, with plenty of laughter, dance, song, - and epic sword fights from our trained fight team. 

A professional theatre and film team bring this show to the stage for your delight this winter! from a nationally award-winning theatre and film company, of local actors and creatives

Online ticket booking: 
http://www.southdevonplayers.com/box-office.html , or you can telephone/ text 07855 090589, to reserve. 

Brixham Dates: 
Jan 20th - 7pm
Jan 21st - 2pm and 7pm

Brixham Venue: 
The Edge, 
Bolton Street. 
Brixham, 
Devon. 
TQ5 9DH

Brixham Prices: 
Adults £7
Concs (saturday £5.50, Sunday £5.00)

For more info on us: __________________

www.southdevonplayers.com
Facebook & Twitter: @sdevonplayers
Instagram: sdevonplayers1
email southdevonplayers@gmail.com
Youtube: southdevonplayers
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Wrapping on filming Mordred

15/8/2017

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So, we are delighted to announce that after two years of incredible hard work, crazy and sometimes hilarious fundraising, wonderful times, hard times, camping in the rain, and racing around Devon & Cornwall, we have finally completed filming our Arthurian feature film Mordred. 
There are honestly too many people to name and tag and thank, in one social media post, who have been involved in this and contributed to make things happen - and without any of them, the film would not have happened.
We still have to go through IMDb and our credits list to make sure everyone is credited on there. 
Production completed last weekend with a wonderful two day shoot, for the completion filming for the Battle of Camlann, with the assistance of amazing re-enactment group Warriors Of Tintagel

Now, the film moves into post production. Michael, our editor, is cutting the film together, as with everyone else, working on the film around his day job and other commitments.
One stage of this incredible journey is over, more yet to come with the editing and release of the film. What an amazing team, and what a wonderful journey to be on. :)
(photos below from filming The Battle of Camlann last weekend)

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<<Previous

    Updated by our founder
    ​Laura Jury

    This is our new format news page. To read all our news between 2010 and Jan 2015, please see our old format news page HERE

    If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at
    southdevonplayers@gmail.com

    The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, is the trading name of The South Devon Players Limited;
    Registered at Companies House: Company number 11569166 
    ​

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