Broadstone Players 
War Memorial Hall, Broadstone
JJ 
24 February 2026
As the rain is finally stopping and we are seeing Spring around us and brighter weather cheering our day Broadstone Players brings the much-needed anticipation of Summer. Their five playlets, called Deckchairs, provide a warming day at the seaside.
It is good to see a group who have a healthy supply of actors to fill all the female roles giving everyone a turn, something Broadstone Players are supportive of, as well as giving extra walk on parts delivering some well thought through interchanges punctuating the distinction between scenes.
It is always interesting seeing a Broadstone Players production as they often put on less well-known plays and plays by local playwrights. Deckchairs was new to me and takes the audience on a journey with a snapshot of lives, comic, dramatic and poignant with the author Jean McConnell recreating the feeling of the best “people watching” moments.
It can be difficult appraising an opening night as it is normally the first time the actors get to test the material in front of an audience. First night nerves were apparent and the prompt unfortunately was kept busy particularly in two of the playlets. As a general observation, when there is minimal set and little action – essentially each scene was set with the actors sitting in adjacent deckchairs (it would have been nice to have seen an actual deckchair on set!) – pace and cue bites and facial acting are essential to keep the audience engaged and to capitalise on the humours moments. Each scene ran for about 20 minutes while the script suggests each should run for about 15 minutes and hopefully by the end of the week the pace will have quickened to nearer that running time.
The action opening with “Shoppers”, two ladies, Rosemary (Sue Gibson) and Angela (Debbie Southern) at the end of a shopping spree comparing their finds and their different approaches to life. A jolly and relatable tete-a-tete. Sue and Debbie worked well together, though the scene left me somewhat nonplussed as, unlike the other scenes, there seemed to be no clear story arc or purpose in their interaction.
“Late Frost” is the more emotionally challenging of the playlets, requiring a dynamic of emotions that felt on opening night sometimes to be lacking. Pamela (Beverley Whitehead) and Kate (Lucy Webster) hold together a very difficult interaction and both shape believable characters. I would have liked to have seen more intensity and more projection from Pamela which would have made the denouement more compelling.
“Dancers” gives a lovely and well-acted piece. Both Lesley James as Betty and Veronica Ryder as Wynn show their stage experience well, transporting the audience to the beach and creating strong imagery with their stories of their dancing holidays and the people they know. This provided a lovely ending to Act 1.
Act 2 opens with “Early Blight” which provides a mother, Helen, (Val Smith) and daughter, June (Emma Moy) moment. Their already strained relationship is tested with the disclosure of a long held secret. Together they capture the sadness of sacrifices and selfishness, all too easy for relationships to fall into. An engaging performance. I enjoyed the pacey powerful start made by Helen though the pace did lapse. June did show some genuine and believable emotion.
The evening concludes with “Doggies”, a delightful comedic piece with a great chemistry between Sue Spencer (Eleanor) and Verity Brayshaw (Angela). They elicited the first proper laughs of the evening with their acting and use of dog puppets bringing the audience to life and sending everyone into the night in good spirits.
Overall, an enjoyable evening for the modest but attentive audience. Directors Mar Godfrey and Malcolm Miller did well with their direction with limited set ensuring that there was never a dull moment.
