Barton Theatre Company

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Barton Theatre Company

Barton Theatre Company For more than fifty years ( and under two or three guises ! ) Barton Theatre Company has been creating theatre in Eccles and beyond !

From Shakespeare’s plays, to work from our home-grown writers, we’ve performed them in theatres, churches & retirement homes, sports clubs & marquees, art galleries & libraries - and on the streets, carparks and green spaces of Eccles. A group working closely in and with our community, we simply enjoy making theatre - whatever we do and wherever we do it. We rehearse in the Community Hall at Ec

cles Congregational Church on Wellington Road, Eccles, on Mondays and Thursdays from 19:30 and perform some of our shows there - and though our annual pantomime has been in The Lowry Studio for the last five years, we'll be in a new venue, 'The Empty Space' Theatre in Kansas Avenue Media City, for our January '25 Pantomime ( but we'll be back at The Lowry for our Spring '25 production of 'Under Milk Wood' )
Contact us via Facebook - or via email on on [email protected] if you're interested in being involved, in any way, in the theatre we make...........

23/06/2026

Two more awards for Barton Theatre Company at Saturday’s Awards Dinner. To Marit Schep for her dual role as Chantelle and Ruby - and to Ann Taverner for her Cameo role as Sweet Sue in Barton’s 2026 Panto “ Red. The Panto”
Congratulations to them both !

21/06/2026

Last Night was The Association of Community Theatres Awards Night - and Barton actors picked up two awards from our 8 nominations.
Marit Schep won the ‘ Most accomplished supporting actress’ award for her dual roles as Ruby and Chantelle in our 2026 pantomime “Red” and Ann Taverner won the ‘Most creative cameo role by an actress’ award, for her role as Sweet Sue in the same pantomime.
Congratulations from all of us, to both of them - and to all our eight nominees !
( I’m not sure how we came to be called Barton Players on the awards - we’ve not been that for over 35 years - but it makes no difference to the awards themselves and last night was a brilliant night for Barton Theatre Company ! )
Our next production is “Postcards from Salford” - a celebration in words, music, song & dance, of Salford’s cultural and social heritage.
You can see the show in Eccles Town Hall from the 23rd to the 25th of July and, thanks to funding from the Salford Centenary Fund, we are able to offer tickets to this show absolutely free to you all !
We’d advise that you still book your tickets through Ticketsource ( use the link below - you won’t have to pay any money ) but tickets will also be available on the door.
https://www.ticketsource.com/barton-theatre-company/postcards-from-salford/e-zpjrab
More details in a day or two ……..
See you there !!

14/06/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18gE5xpAuj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A memory from 8 years ago …. Barton Theatre members, Marit, Janet and Eric lip-syncing in a promo film for the last but one World Cup !
Watch the whole film if you want to - if you just want to see us, join in at about 2 minutes 30 sec.
Don’t blink - You’ll miss them !

28/05/2026

A show in June produced by Caroline Jones, one of our ex-members ….
It’s part of the Salford 100 Celebrations ….. and it’s free

21/05/2026

‘MR WONDERFUL’
At Eccles Town Hall on Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd May at 7.30
( plus Saturday Matinee at 2pm )
SO, FINALLY ………
MEET THE CREW !
Those techies, artists, craftspeople etc without whom there’d be no costumes to wear, no wigs or makeup, no set or set dressings, no sounds to listen to, no light to see by - and no posters or flyers to let you know the play’s even happening !!
Theatre’s Unseen Heroes -
The Crew !
Here’s to them all ………..
There’s still time to book your tickets for ‘Mr Wonderful’ by using this link:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
Or just come to the Town Hall and pay on the door ….

18/05/2026

MEET THE DIRECTORS:
MARIT SCHEP & JACK CARBERRY
Marit, Director of “Mr Wonderful” has performed in and directed many of Barton’s dramas and comedies and, in Panto, played goodies and baddies alike !
This year, she was nominated by ACT
in the ‘Most Accomplished Supporting Actress’ category for her double performance as Chantelle and Ruby in ‘Red The Panto’ ….. Her quick changes were a tour de force !
Jack, Associate Director of the play, is a relative newcomer to Barton - and probably holds the record for being catapulted into work on a show, after he was given a backstage role in ‘Red, the Panto’ on his second visit to Barton ! A good job he’d had plenty
of experience elsewhere !
Jack also plays the part of the waiter
in ‘Mr Wonderful’. A brief role - but we’re sure you’ll be seeing more of
him in the future !
Get your tickets for Mr Wonderful now.
Just 3 days to go ! Book here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
Or Pay on the Door

16/05/2026

MEET THE CAST
And finally: Two more of Norma’s blind dates !!
Eric Atkinson plays Eric Box, from Bolton whose passion in life is the hardware he sells in his DIY shop.
and Brian Cogswell plays Lop Wink, a fanatical cyclist who spends most of his time racing his bicycle up & down the Pennines ….
Brian is Barton’s ‘ wigmeister’ who has also played the Dame in all of our pantomimes for many years - and last year he was given an Association of Community Theatres’ “ Excellence in Theatre” award for his performance as Dame Roberta in “Treasure Island - the Panto”.
Eric is an actor and director with Barton and last year won A.C.T.’s
“Most Creative Cameo Role ” award for his performance of Captain Flint / Blind Pew in the same Panto.
Opening night is next Thursday ( 21st ) in Eccles Town Hall at 7.30 - and the show plays there till Saturday 23rd.
Book your tickets here
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
……..Or pay on the door.
Just 5 days to go !!

15/05/2026

“MR WONDERFUL. MEET THE CAST:
MEL HAWKER
Mel plays Geoff Lazenby, Norma’s most likely “Mr Wonderful” so far…
Mel’s roles with Barton range from the detective Jack Gale in ‘The Thrill of Love”, a drama based on the real life story of Ruth Ellis, to Stridor, the grumpy old giant in Barton’s production of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ - and he’s recently received a nomination for “most accomplished evil character” in the Association of Community Theatres’ Panto Awards.
You can see “Mr Wonderful” at Eccles Town Hall from Thursday 21st to Saturday 23rd May - book here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
Or pay on the door. See you next week !

13/05/2026

MEET THE CAST
Natalie Poole-Cook plays Norma Green…… looking for love, whilst looking after her elderly mother who doesn’t make her life easy. Their battles bring laughter and tears in equal measure to our production of
James Robsons bittersweet comedy “Mr Wonderful”, playing at Eccles Town Hall from 21st to 23rd May.
Nat has played many parts with Barton, ranging from Ruth Ellis in ‘The Thrill of Love’ , to Maria in ‘ Twelfth Night’ ………. and many a Panto heroine & baddy !
She’s also directed, stage managed and worked on the tech desks.
A woman of many talents !
Book your tickets and see Natalie in next week’s production by using
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
Or pay on the door.
Looking forward to seeing you all !

12/05/2026

Just over a week to go till the opening night of our production of ‘Mr Wonderful’ at Eccles Town Hall !
Here’s a closer look at our cast …..
Today, Elly Hayton who plays Phoebe Green - Norma’s elderly mother with an ‘interesting’ past and a spiky relationship with her daughter.
Elly’s been a member of Barton for a long time - at first claiming that she ‘didn’t want to act’ - but, after being persuaded to take on the role of Bet Bouncer in ‘She Stoops to Conquer’
all those years ago, never lost her love of performing !
You can see Mr Wonderful at the Town Hall from 21st to 23rd May at 7.30pm
( plus matinee 2pm Saturday )
Either book your tickets from TicketSource here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barton-theatre-company
Or pay on the door.
Tickets £10 ( £8 concession )
Doors and cafe / bar open 6.45pm

Address

Salford
M54BS

Website

https://www.bartontheatre.co.uk/

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