The Marlborough Players

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The Marlborough Players

Since 2006, the Marlborough Players have staged regular live performances in the town, as well as play readings and a number of recorded online radio plays.

We have a healthy membership, but new members are always welcome. Our Company

The Marlborough Players was founded by Barbara Clauson, Ian Philpott & Jack Hawkes, when support for 2004’s “Wheels of Time” play marking the 800th anniversary of Marlborough’s Charter, clearly indicated that there was an enthusiasm for a drama group in the town once again. We have staged numerous productions since, as

well as a number of online radio plays and occasionally organise play readings. Although we have a healthy membership, we are always looking for aspiring actors and directors to join our happy band, as well as those willing to help backstage. If you are interested and would like further details, please contact the Secretary, Mrs Pat Turvey - [email protected]

07/06/2026

🎭 Fancy treading the boards in the Marlborough Players’ next production? 🎭

The stage is booked, the production team raring to go, and the performance dates are set... All we need now is our cast!

If you are tempted, and would like to find out more, please do come along to an open meeting. The play itself will be chosen to suit the cast, who come forward, and you will have a chance to try out scenes from some of the shortlisted plays.

📍 Quaker Meeting House (1st Floor), Parade, Marlborough (next to the Cinema).
📅 Thursday 25 June
🕖 7.00 pm

🎭 Performance dates - 19 to 21 November

If you think you might be interested, but cannot get there, please do send a message.

We would love to see you there. Hope you can make it.

Help spread the word please and share. Thank you.

19/04/2026

🎭 Calling All Directors - ⭐Your Next Stage Awaits! ⭐

Riding high on the success of our March production, the Marlborough Players are now searching for a passionate, imaginative director to lead our November 2026 show (19th-21st).

This is a fantastic chance to bring your vision to life with a committed, friendly company and a very enthusiastic local audience. Whether you’re an experienced director or someone ready to take the next step, we’d love to hear what you could bring to our stage.

Tell us a little about yourself - your experience, your directing style, and any plays you’re excited to tackle - and send your proposal to our Secretary, Pat Turvey, at [email protected] by Friday 8th May (including a contact telephone number).

Come shape the next chapter of the Marlborough Players. We can’t wait to hear your ideas!

The Marlborough Players

🚩Get our latest news first - click the links below and FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram:

👍https://www.facebook.com/TheMarlboroughPlayers
👍www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

14/04/2026

🎭 The Marlborough Players were delighted this week to donate £467.48 to Prospect Hospice! This is the profit from the sale of programmes at our March sell-out production of Alan Ayckbourn’s much loved comedy “Absent Friends”. As we look ahead to celebrating our 20th anniversary later this year, we’re proud to share that this brings our total fundraising for this very worthy cause to almost £6,500 since the group was founded.

We are enormously grateful to our three wonderful audiences, whose generosity and support across the run helped make this latest donation possible. Thank you all so much for supporting the invaluable work of Prospect Hospice. ❤️

If you didn’t have the opportunity to donate at the time and would still like to, please do visit their website via: https://donate.prospect-hospice.net/

The Marlborough Players

⭐ ABSENT FRIENDS - ALAN AYCKBOURN - 26-28 MARCH 2026

Prospect Hospice

🔜 Save the dates for our next production - 19 to 21 November 2026. To be sure to receive all the details, click the links below & FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram:
👍 The Marlborough Players
👍 www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

04/04/2026

❤️ Our heartfelt thanks go to the cast, production team and all the volunteers who gave so generously of their time, energy, and support to make our production of Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absent Friends” such a wonderful success. We simply could not have done it without you.

We would also like to offer our sincere and grateful thanks to:
⭐ The White Horse Bookshop for their exceptional help and support with ticket sales
⭐ Chris & Izzie at the Town Hall for their kindness, encouragement, and support throughout
⭐ The Prospect Hospice shop for their continued generosity in loaning costumes
⭐ KFR, Hopton Estate, Devizes for the very generous loan of furniture
⭐ Waitrose for their kind donation of drinks for the bar
⭐ and all 450 of you, who bought tickets

Your generosity, goodwill and willingness to help are deeply appreciated and you have all played an important part in making this production so special. Thank you. ❤️

The Marlborough Players

🎭 ABSENT FRIENDS - ALAN AYCKBOURN - 26-28 MARCH 2026

🔜 Save the dates for our next production - 19 to 21 November 2026. To be sure to receive all the details, click the links below & FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram:
👍 www.facebook.com/TheMarlboroughPlayers
👍 www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

29/03/2026

👏❤️ A huge thank you to everyone, who came to support the wonderful cast, director, and production team for our sell-out performances of Alan Ayckbourn’s much loved classic, “Absent Friends”!

Over the past three nights, 430 of you joined us at the Town Hall’s Assembly Room, and we hope you had a wonderful evening. 📷 If you couldn’t get a ticket, we thought you might like to see a few photos of our cast in action, taken by Ian Philpott

🔜 Save the dates for our next production - 19 to 21 November 2026. To be sure to receive all the details, click the links below & FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram:
👍 The Marlborough Players
👍 www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

🎭 ABSENT FRIENDS - ALAN AYCKBOURN - 26-28 MARCH 2026

26/03/2026

⭐⭐ A small number of returned tickets have just become available for this Friday and Saturday’s sold-out shows ⭐⭐

🎭 Please leave a message in the comments below if you would like to reserve them before they go 🎭

This much-loved Ayckbourn classic is a sharp, darkly funny exploration of friendship, marriage and the fragile business of happiness. Set around an awkward afternoon tea for a recently bereaved friend, polite conversation quickly gives way to something far more revealing, blending comedy and heartbreak with Ayckbourn’s unmistakable brilliance.

📍 Venue: Town Hall, Marlborough
📅 Remaining Performances: Friday 27th - Saturday 28th March
⏰ Time: 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
🎫 Tickets: £10

Join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening of theatre!

The Marlborough Players

⭐⭐Click the links below & FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram to catch all the show photos after the production and to be first to see all our latest news! ⭐⭐
www.facebook.com/TheMarlboroughPlayers
www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

This amateur production of ‘Absent Friends’ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

24/03/2026

⭐⭐ It’s show-week for the Marlborough Players⭐⭐

Pssst, here is a sneaky peek at our outstanding cast of six in final rehearsals for the Marlborough Players’ production of Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absent Friends” - this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Acerbic, poignant and painfully funny, this is a show you won’t want to miss!

This much-loved Ayckbourn classic is a sharp, darkly funny exploration of friendship, marriage and the fragile business of happiness. Set around an awkward afternoon tea for a recently bereaved friend, polite conversation quickly gives way to something far more revealing, blending comedy and heartbreak with Ayckbourn’s unmistakable brilliance.

🎭 We’re thrilled to announce that 410 tickets have already been sold, and FRIDAY & SATURDAY ARE NOW COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! There are JUST 40 TICKETS LEFT FOR THURSDAY’S PERFORMANCE, so hurry to the White Horse Book Shop now before they’re gone.

We occasionally have returned tickets, so it’s also worth dropping in to ask whether any spaces for Friday or Saturday have become available. Also, there’s a chance we may have some at the door.

📍 Venue: Town Hall, Marlborough
📅 Performances: Thursday 26th - Saturday 28th March
⏰ Time: 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
🎫 Tickets: £10 from the White Horse Bookshop, High Street, Marlborough

Join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening of theatre!

The Marlborough Players

⭐⭐ Click the links below & FOLLOW US on Facebook & Instagram to catch all the show photos after the production and to be first to see all our latest news!⭐⭐

The Marlborough Players

www.instagram.com/marlboroughplayers/

This amateur production of ‘Absent Friends’ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

17/03/2026

🎭 IT’S CURTAIN-UP NEXT WEEK for the Marlborough Players' production of Alan Ayckbourn’s classic comedy “Absent Friends” and what a show it promises to be!

Tickets have been selling incredibly fast, and availability is now very limited. All 150 tickets for the FRIDAY PERFORMANCE HAVE COMPLETELY SOLD OUT, but there are just 27 TICKETS REMAINING FOR THURSDAY and 22 FOR SATURDAY - so don’t wait too long!

With a talented cast of six, this sharp, poignant, and painfully funny play takes to the stage of Marlborough Town Hall. It will be a wonderful evening of theatre that you won’t want to miss!

📅 Performances: Thursday 26th - Saturday 28th March
⏰ Time: 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
🎫 Tickets: £10 from the White Horse Bookshop

Grab your tickets while you still can - we’d love to see you there!

The Marlborough Players

⭐ Please FOLLOW US on Facebook for more details & all our latest news! ⭐

This amateur production of ‘Absent Friends’ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

11/03/2026

🎭 With just two weeks until opening night, meet the brilliant director behind our upcoming production of “Absent Friends” by Alan Ayckbourn, Rhian Vaughan Webb. Directing is a real passion of Rhian’s, and she is thrilled to be doing so for the Players for the first time.

🎬 Director’s note:

✨This is a play that demands honesty from its actors and empathy from its audience. Ayckbourn’s writing leaves room for authenticity and spontaneity, rehearsals have been exciting and full of discovery.

✨My background, in teaching and studying theatre, has shaped my approach. We’ve focused closely on language, pauses, and status shifts. Comedy only works when played truthfully. The humour comes from discomfort and recognition, not exaggeration. The play depends on detailed relationships and sustained tension. It requires trust to hold silence and let emotional moments build. I’m grateful to a cast who have embraced that challenge so fully. I chose “Absent Friends” because of its balance of cruelty and compassion. It is funny, uncomfortable, and deeply human. Theatre only comes fully to life when it is shared, so do come along for what promises to be an entertaining and thought-provoking evening!

📅 Performances: Thursday 26th - Saturday 28th March
⏰ Time: 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
🎫 Tickets: £10 from the White Horse Bookshop - Hurry, they are selling like hot cakes!

👍 Follow us on Facebook for more details & all our latest news! ❤️

This amateur production of “Absent Friends” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

04/03/2026

Absent Friends - meet the cast

This week we’re introducing the three fantastic men at the centre of our production of Alan Ayckbourn’s “Absent Friends”:
✨Colin - played by Sam Olsen, recently bereaved but seemingly coping surprisingly well… unsettling those around him.
✨Paul - played by Richard Lester, restless and defensive as tensions rise.
✨John - played by Gary Ellmes, quiet and passive, preferring to let events unfold rather than face the truth.

Together, they reveal how easily people avoid their feelings—even among close friends.

📅 Performances: Thursday 26th – Saturday 28th March
⏰ Time: 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)
🎟 Tickets: £10 from the White Horse Bookshop, or online via www.wegottickets.com/MarlboroughPlayers.

👍 Follow us on Facebook for more details & all of our latest news! ❤️

This amateur production of ‘Absent Friends’ is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

Address

Marlborough
SN81AA

Website

http://www.marlboroughplayers.co.uk/

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