Broadstone Players 
War Memorial Hall, Broadstone
KD Johnson
04 September 2026
Broadstone Players have run this event most years for 30 years. They take some relatively easy one-act plays and give them to first-time directors and performers to present on stage at the Broadstone War Memorial Hall – with some assistance from the company’s experienced players. In this year’s show there are, we are told, 3 new directors and 6 new actors – I don’t recognise any of the names from previous shows so the challenge is to spot which are the old hands and which are the newbies.
The audience are seated informally, around tables. Approximately half-way through the evening (or the matinée on Saturday) there is a break, during which a supper of fish and chips, sausage and chips, or equivalent vegetarian fare is served to the audience (or a cream-tea at the matinée). The food is included in the price of the tickets and there is a licensed bar at the evening performances. With the audience suitably fed and watered the entertainment continues.
The first playlet here is one of several short, comedy plays by David Tristram which are set in the fictional community of Little Grimley. This one, Little Grimley – Saving the Planet, is the longest of tonight’s 3 plays – taking up the first hour before the supper-break and consisting of three separate scenes.
The fictional Little Grimley Amateur Dramatic Society have to somehow raise enough money to replace their boiler, which was condemned 14 years ago, with a modern heat-pump or risk being closed down by “The Council”. The assembled committee bears a passing resemblance to the cast of The Vicar of Dibley. Indeed, Arthur Botham, as the chair, Gordon, bears a passing resemblance, in both appearance and characterisation, to the late Gary Waldhorn as David Horton in that sitcom. Verity Brayshaw fills the rôle of the clueless Joyce with aplomb, Stuart Risdale’s deadpan delivery of Bernard’s comedic lines are a joy to behold and Sue Spencer plays a more-or-less straight rôle as Margaret – until she brings the house down with that mask on.
All-in-all there is loads of humour and the occasionally required prompting doesn’t slow the pace down. The ending felt a bit flat – but I suspect that is due to the script.
A Spy With a View by Robert Scott places Keith Griffin, as David Brown, and Elle Newing, as his wife, in a Spanish hotel room during a rainy summer holiday. The delivery of a mysterious briefcase by Hannah Maycock as Paula puts the proverbial cat among the pigeons and creates some comedy tension. Unsure delivery drags the pace, not helped by the need for prompting. However, Elle Newing, as Mrs Brown, has some good facial expressions and her delivery of the denouement at the end is well handled.
The finale piece is a two-hander. The Power of the Sandwich by Grahame Maclean places James Turrall, as Broderick, on a window-ledge – poised to jump – and Colin Baverstoke as a disinterested fellow, Dave, in the next room. Once again any pace and spontaneity is killed by the unsure delivery and the need for prompting. We are unsure as to what the length of curtain chain (or some such), which is doubled around “Dave’s” neck, is supposed to represent and I suggest that it detracts from the piece.
This is, of course, opening night and things should improve. For only £13 there is a Saturday matinée (5th September) at 2.15pm (with a cream-tea but no bar) and then another evening performance with fish and chips at 7.30pm. There is no matinée next weekend but the show runs (with fish supper) at 7:30pm on both Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September. Tickets are £16 including supper.
