Drama in the Dale has come bursting into the New Year with great success! Auditions for “The Bonny Moorhen” play where held in St Thomas’ Church Hall on January 8th and local folk of Weardale (Alan Anderson, Ruth Haynes, Pat Davison, Mike and Lia Hamp, Jackie and Patrick Johnson, Ben Jackson, Laura Emerson, Tom Burton, Jonathon Liddle, Hannah Thompson and Jeremy Warr) are all now official members of the cast. I am pleased also to have the part of ‘Keeper Beadle’ in a comedy court scene. Whilst we were attending auditions the room next door was filled with a number of activities such as hand-bell ringing with Steve Robson and ‘Green Screen Animation with Gareth Hudson, making projected film backgrounds for the set.

AND the best news is that ‘The Shed’ in Unthank Park (Stanhope Agricultural Society’s Showground) opens on February 1st to begin its transformation into the Unthank Theatre! Anyone wanting to help Joseph Robson and the set-building team can drop in any time between 10am and 10pm from Wednesday-Sunday from now until the play is finished!