Their latest production marks two milestones, 20 years since the SDC first performed Henry V and the company’s 60th Birthday.
It will not only be 20 years since SDC first performed the play at Much Wenlock Festival, but also 60 years since Shropshire County Drama Group (SCDG); which was the original name before changing to SDC in 2005; was established in 1958 by the then county drama adviser, Bert Amies, OBE.
SDC spokesperson Neville Street, said: “Bert maintained, up until he passed away in 1992, that SCDG should aim to offer ‘challenging, worthwhile and innovative drama’ to the people of Shropshire. Well, we have carried that ethos through to the present day and on occasions delivered our productions to people outside of Shropshire, in particular when we took Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well to the RSC’s Complete Works fringe festival at Stratford in 2006. We performed two shows to capacity crowds in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, adjacent to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I think Bert would be proud of the work we have produced, in particular at Much Wenlock Festival from 1984 to 2014, as well as touring shows such as 2013’s rehearsed reading in Shropshire churches of TS Eliot’s Murder In The Cathedral, and in the last nine years, regular performances at Theatre Severn.”
Commenting on Henry V, he continued: “In addition to the group of talented new people on board, some of the actors from 1998 are in the forthcoming production and Peter Beechey, who played Chorus 20 years ago, is the director. We hope that the generous audiences we have received since 1958 will continue to attend our productions for many more years to come.”
Performances of Henry V start at 7.30pm in the Walker Theatre at Theatre Severn and tickets cost £17.50 and £15 for students (Wednesday and Thursday only). A discount of £1 per ticket is available for block bookings of ten or more people.
To book tickets contact the box office at Theatre Severn – telephone 01743 281281 – or alternatively book online at www.theatresevern.co.uk/shows/drama/henry-v/
Alex Beechey as Henry V
About Shropshire Drama Company (SDC)
SDC is an amateur company whose aim is to bring ‘challenging, worthwhile and innovative drama’ to the people of Shropshire and was originally founded by the former county drama and arts adviser the late Bert Amies, OBE.
SDC aspires to provide audiences with high quality performances covering a wide genre of plays. Apart from acting in a variety of plays, members of SDC also have the chance to develop various aspects of behind-scenes skills that are all essential ingredients in the making of a play.
The following are some of the productions that SDC has staged over the past years:- Henry IV (Part One) in Haughmond Abbey as part of the Battle of Shrewsbury 600th Anniversary Commemorative Festival, The Lion In Winter at the Edge Arts Centre, King Lear, All’s Well That Ends Well, King Richard III, Romeo & Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor (twice), The Taming Of The Shrew, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, The Tempest, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth and Hamlet at the biennial Much Wenlock Festival, Inherit the Wind in St. Chad’s Church as part of Shrewsbury’s Darwin Festival, A View From The Bridge at Concord College and Ellesmere Arts Centre, and She Stoops to Conquer, Hay Fever, Creditors, An Inspector Calls, The Accrington Pals, As You Like It, All My Sons and Bedroom Farce at Theatre Severn.
For more information about Shropshire Drama Company or Henry V, contact:
www.shropshiredramacompany.co.uk
Book group tickets for Henry V by William Shakespeare on Wed 07 – Sat 10 Nov
At the Walker Theatre
Young King Henry wages war on France. Tainted by the past crimes of his family and with enemies among his own men, he must face the difficult responsibilities of kingship, uniting his country and rousing his troops to battle at Agincourt.
A heroic coming-of-age story and a work of stirring patriotic oratory, Henry V also has darker undercurrents that ultimately question the price of military victory.
‘We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.’
Performance at 7.30pm
Tickets £17.50 STUDENT £15 (Wed & Thurs)
Groups enjoy 10+ discount via the Box Office
