The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company News

An amazing launch to our theatre school

25/1/2025

An absolutely wonderful launch to our theatre school in collaboration with AKP Management Agency. A wonderful mix of regular and new faces.
Abi is a really experienced agent who represents a magical range of actors for productions from short films up to big name international productions.
Today’s session was all about developing your professional acting profile and resume for both UK and LA castings, and then a headshot photoshoot for all attendees.
A day of learning, sharing, joy, laughter, support, meeting new faces, and creativity for everyone
All part of “making it happen” for local creatives and actors (which is our theatre company remit, after all) and proving professionalism isn’t just limited to the big cities.
The next sessions are
February: stage craft, performing live on stage.
March: self tale auditions and showreels- plus filming a showreel clip for your portfolio.
Tomorrow are the open auditions (all welcome to attend ) for our theatre production Romeo & Juliet - info at Open Theatre Auditions: William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (DM if you have any questions)

Happy Christmas, and getting excited for 2025

20/12/2024

Wishing all our friends and contacts a lovely Christmas and new year and thank you so much for all your amazing support - we look forward to working with you again soon!

All sorts of great things starting in January!
As we come up to the final weekend before Christmas with our Saturday show at #Kingskerswell, and then our fundraising market stall at the Vigilance Weatherspooons in Brixham on Sunday, things will then slow up (on the outside at least!) while we get things ready for a very busy January - with finishing our Three Musketeers tour, reopening our theatre school, and casting for our first half of 2025 tour across Devon and to the Midlands (and streaming in the UK and USA) production of Romeo & Juliet.
There are also discussions about additional things in the works supporting local people in the creative industries - hopefully in the New Year there will be more exciting announcements.
We are always looking for people who want to get involved in all aspects of theatre, video and creativity - so do drop us a line if interested!
Auditions page with all show info/ sides/ etc at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/auditions.html
Course signup page at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/training.html
All in conjunction with Chestnut Community Centre (our rehearsal base) and AKP Management Agency (partnering on the theatre school)

The return of our theatre school is announced

24/9/2024

ANNOUNCEMENT
We are thrilled to announce that we are going to be re-opening our theatre school in January, in collaboration with the lovely Abi, founder of https://www.akpmanagement.com, a very experienced and lovely talent agent, and drama teacher.
Classes can be taken individually or you can go for the whole series of classes - these will include professional development : how to market yourself as an actor, how to apply to agencies and what you need in order to do so, how to do showreels and headshots ; stage craft, stage combat, etc. You will get to take away a professionally done headshot and a demo reel as well.
These classes are running as a trial, following which Abi and I will refine plans for a 2026 winter school
Each class (held once a month on a Saturday at Chestnut Community Centre - our rehearsal base) will cost £20.
Booking details and signups will be coming shortly, Abi and I need to "back and forth" on the posters and promotion design first

Bringing Macbeth to a local school and an amazing day

23/2/2024

We have had an absolutely incredible day today at Brixham Theatre bringing a full uncut performance to TSAT - Brixham College students, of our production of Macbeth, this concluding our show tour since November;
Hearing from one of the teachers that this is the first ever experience of live theatre for many of the students, and then seeing (and hearing from the school staff) that the students really engaged with and enjoyed the show was one of the best things in the world.

Also, a huge thank you to the Brixham Theatre staff for making it run smoothly and welcoming the students and teachers- and also to the students for being so lovely! It’s been a huge success for everyone and an absolute joy for our team <3

Great shows and Feedback from Brixham Theatre

15/11/2023

After a brilliant run of shows at Brixham Theatre we are now going on to our sold out show at the Barnfield in Exeter, before coming to Torquay, Kingskerswell, Ashburton and Stokenham.
It is brilliant to also have multiple schools coming along and being involved, and to have great audience feedback from the shows.
If you want to get tickets to any of our shows, (obviously Exeter is sold out but the rest have tickets available) please pop over to our Box Office page for dates and booking information.

Review from Brixham Theatre - original post at
www.facebook.com/BrixhamTheatreCIO/posts/pfbid02UYZWJzpohKKMwKf6ewPj6BaHjXUTd8xL1vGrMWf1a8uimcAabwLdHvvC7FtVkXnhl

"Something Wicked This Way Comes” - Macbeth at Brixham Theatre.
From the first glimpse beyond the rising curtain, it was evident that this performance from The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, Brixham would be a distinctive and innovative take on the timeless classic.
Firstly, I felt the need to point out the sheer amount of lines these actors mastered is truly commendable!
The portrayal of the witches was a standout. Cloaked in mesmerising costumes, they weaved through dramatic movements. The use of lighting throughout the performance heightened moments of mystique, mental wellness, violence, and atmospheres that remained after the curtains closed.
What truly set this production apart was the incorporation of dynamic acting in the aisles. This had the bonus of drawing the audience into the narrative with an intensity and unpredictability rarely seen in traditional renditions.
The talented cast delivered performances that brought the characters to life in an authentic and emotionally charged manner. Set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop, the play's tragic beginning and foreshadowing set the stage for the Macbeths' descent into madness. It added a layer of relevance, making the timeless text accessible and relatable to a contemporary audience.
A poignant moment was Lady Macbeth's rendition of the "Out, Damned Spot" scene. The actress brought a haunting vulnerability to the character, inviting the audience to empathise with the internal torment of Lady Macbeth's descent into guilt-ridden madness.
The success of the production was not only a testament to the talent of the performers but also highlighted the dedication of the volunteers at Brixham Theatre. Their commitment ensured a seamless and enjoyable experience, contributing to the overall positive impression of the evening.
In reflection, a quote from Macbeth himself comes to mind: "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage." This production not only embraced the inherent theatricality of the play but also left a lasting impression, a shadow that will continue to "strut and fret" in the minds of the audience.
For those yet to experience this riveting rendition of Macbeth, tickets are still available. Don't miss the chance to witness a play seamlessly combining tradition with innovation, and classic themes with contemporary relevance. It is a great performance for those studying the play in school or college, or as a refreshing take on a classic for those who enjoy Shakespeare.
Ticket purchases and futher details can be found at www.brixhamtheatre.uk
By Brixham Theatre's Writer in Residence Bethan Rees

A look at Macbeth and our lovely team on video

19/10/2023

Hello all!
We have two lovely videos to bring you. First of all is our lovely Sean, in rehearsals as the Porter last night and absolutely rocking the role.

Then, our lovely Michael, put together a video trailer filmed down at Battery gardens the other day.

Taking Macbeth into a local primary school

11/10/2023

Yesterday our Macbeth cast took excerpts of the production into a local primary school. It was an absolutely amazing lovely day. It is always great to work with such interested, engaged youngsters, and bring theatre, arts and literature to life.

Welcoming lovely Sue.

16/9/2023

A big challenge which we have had since the day we started is support accessing writing grant applications and networking etc.

With being one person doing all that, and the theatre company admin, while also being autistic and of a minority, Laura has found it largely inaccessible both in terms of time and in terms of people/ organizations/ funders making negative judgements on “someone different from them”, and her own social anxiety and c-ptsd. This has of course had a huge knock on to what we have been able to achieve for the amazing local people we work with. Appeals for reliable help on this, for 17 years, fell on deaf ears.

Now the lovely Sue Slade from Paignton, also mother to two autistic teenagers who often become involved in our shows, has come on board as Laura’s access support for applying to grants, networking and building up those things, and being that contact whom outside bodies for funding, networking and the arts, may feel more comfortable accepting..
Already on Day 1; two applications have gone off with another two in the drafting stage.

Great showcase/ workshop, concluding the 2022-23 winter theatre school

17/3/2023

We had a great conclusion to the theatre school as the final session of the six month drama classes, in which most of our students and a couple of guests from our production or Les Miserables performed a monologue, which was filmed for their portfolios.

The theatre school will return again next winter subject to funding to cover the costs, with various other workshops etc before then we hope. Well done to all the amazing people involved tonight and a huge thank you to Brixham Theatre for hosting the classes!

Education offer for Shakespeare's Macbeth, & Les Miserables

8/12/2022

At the South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, we are now seeking to connect with schools (or other places of education) who would like to work with us - we would love to work with educational establishments (in discussion with what they need) to provide workshops, talks, Q&As, excerpt performances (etc - we are open to discussion with this) , this could be related to the literature/ story, the history or the process of creating the show. We also have some neurodiverse people within the cast, so discussions on making theatre participation accessible to people with those conditions is also very welcome.

These can be in person, at your school/ college, or we can host it in Brixham - alternatively we can also work with you over video link (Zoom etc)

We are also happy to discuss arranging full show performances, at cost, if these are relevant. The shows are all "suitable-for-all")

March - June this would be linked to our show Les Miserables: The Memoirs of Jean Valjean - this is a non-musical theatre drama based off the book, which is going on public tour to Brixham, Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter. Unavailable days would be the weekly rehearsal days; Wednesdays and Sundays (as well as the show dates)

August (so probably logistically September for schools) to January 2024 we will be producing William Shakespeare's Macbeth; this is the full uncut text, again touring publicly to Brixham, Plymouth, Torquay and Exeter, the staging is a post-apocalyptic setting (the aftermath of a nuclear war) , When we did this show (same approach and styling) in 2019k, we won a theatre award for it in New York after streaming it worldwide, and ran an extra weekday performance at Brixham Theatre for a couple of primary schools.

We would absolutely love to hear from anyone interested in discussing further.
Please (in the first instance) get in touch via email; [email protected])