The Rococo Players

A brief history

Over twenty years ago the Gloucestershire Drama Association was set up on behalf of all the drama and theatre societies in Gloucestershire to provide training courses on all aspects of theatre for budding and active thespians of all ages. They also instituted an annual One Act Play Festival and a Full length Play Competition open to all affiliated societies.

As a means of combining the talent of the county it was further decided to put on an annual summer open-air production, with open auditions, based on the Shakespearean repertoire. These were initially mounted at Hidcote Manor, in the north Cotswolds, but subsequently migrated first to Chavenage House and finally, with the kind permission of Lord and Lady Dickinson, to the grounds of The Rococo Garden at Painswick, near Stroud.

But by the end of the 2000 season the absence of any funding other than by ticket sales led the trustees of the GDA to reluctantly conclude that they could no longer continue to bear the ever-increasing costs of the outdoor production. It seemed that the open-air productions were at an end.

However a small group of those who had taken part in previous productions, led by Phil McCormick, got together and suggested that, subject to obtaining certain guarantees to cover any losses, a theatre company should be formed to continue the tradition started by the GDA. A number of individuals nobly consented to guarantee the fledgling company, and with the support of Lord and Lady Dickinson and the invaluable assistance of Paul Moir, the Manager of the Rococo Garden, the 2001 summer show went ahead.

The Rococo Players, as we called ourselves, continued as before to invite would-be directors to put forward plays for consideration, and to invite participation from across the county and beyond. Fortunately we managed to avoid calling on our ‘angels’ during that first year, indeed we managed by careful budgeting to end up with a small surplus which has been used in subsequent years to meet costs incurred before the main ticket sales come on line.

We have been fortunate in attracting a small number of companies to take very reasonably-priced advertisements in our programmes, but otherwise rely totally on ticket sales for our income. Many will be unaware of the overall costs of any open-air production – our summer 2008 production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream cost in the region of £25,000. The Treasurer would be delighted to hear from anyone with expertise or ideas on attracting further sponsorship in these hard times!

In early 2007 The Rococo Players were honoured to be approached by Gloucester Cathedral with a proposal to perform Marlowe’s Edward II, it being the 700th anniversary of the accession of the king murdered in Berkeley Castle and buried in the Cathedral, in order to raise funds for the refurbishment of this unique fourteenth century tomb. We were delighted to accept, especially as we were able to negotiate the use of the Great Hall of Berkeley Castle itself, which added a certain frisson to the murder scene! The production was reprised at Warwick Castle, where Edward’s favourite Piers Gaveston was imprisoned before he too was murdered, and, after payment of expenses, we were pleased to be able to contribute some £5,000 towards the tomb refurbishment fund.

In autumn 2008 we staged Macbeth at Berkeley, at Warwick and at Woodchester Mansion near Stroud, and as well as receiving great critical acclaim, also managed to sell out on nearly every night.

For 2009 we presented a modernistic Romeo & Juliet at Painswick and a Jacobean The Winter’s Tale at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Berkeley.

In April 2010 we reprised our 2007 Edward II production with a superb run which included Oriel College, Oxford, Berkeley Castle, and Gloucester Cathedral.  Looking forward, Shakespeare's charming As You Like It will be performed in July at Painswick. We haven’t got round to Autumn 2010 yet!..........

The Rococo Players believe in attracting talented individuals from any society or none to put themselves forward in any capacity, both on and off the stage. Although we have a small standing committee of Chairman, Treasurer and five others to deal with the necessary administration, membership and auditions are open to all.