History
Back in 1928, four prominent businessmen in Boston, Lincolnshire decided to form Boston’s first Amateur Dramatic Company, known as ‘The Boston Playgoers Society’. It formally came into being on February 10th 1928 and today, in the 21st century, the society is still going strong.
The four men who started it all were: George Robinson, proprietor of the ‘Standard’ (the local newspaper); George Comer, headmaster of Tower Road School; Leslie Deal, head of a local seed firm; and Frank Smith, a local Customs and Excise man. The first president of the society was George L Nussey, a former chairman of the North Holland Magistrates, and vice-presidents were Ethel Henry, headmistress of Boston High School, theatre owner George Howden, and music teacher Connie Gregory.
The first production by the new society was an acted reading of Pygmalion early in 1928, but the first serious production (where the actors had to learn their lines, rather than just read them) was in November of that year. The play was Hawley’s of the High Street, by Walter W Ellis. Described as ‘an eccentric comedy in three acts’ it was performed in Shodfriars Hall (a theatre in which Arthur Lucan, famous as ‘Old Mother Riley’, also appeared). The play was a great success, and the society attracted a membership of over 200, rising to almost 300 in the following year.
In 1929, the society repeated Pygmalion as a full scale production, and in the autumn of 1930 put on two productions: The Man from Toronto, and Bird in Hand. From these beginnings, the society went from strength to strength, putting on two productions a year until the outbreak of the second world war. The last full scale production was The Two Mrs Carrolls in the spring of 1940, although the readings did continue during the war.
In the spring of 1945, the society produced Dangerous Corner, and in the autumn of that year performed 9-45, a play written by a member of Playgoers, Dr G R Usmar. During the action of the play, a baby had to be born on stage. It is quite a compliment to the skill of the actors that during every performance people in the audience fainted during this scene, and on one night as many as five had to be carried out.
By this time, Playgoers had moved from Shodfriars Hall to perform in the New Theatre, which was on the site of the present Poundland store in Boston Market Place (formerly Marks & Spencers), and from there to the Memorial Hall close to the Boston Stump.
This was the venue until 1966, when ‘Blackfriars Little Theatre’ came into being. The building was a derelict medieval friary in a back street in Boston. Playgoers contributed in many ways towards the building of Blackfriars. They helped to raise money for the project and actively assisted in the building work. Anne Cartwright, for many years the secretary of Playgoers, helped mix cement during the preparation work.
In December 1966, Playgoers put on their first production in Blackfriars Theatre. This was Dear Charles, a three act comedy by Allan Melville, and in 1967 we celebrated Playgoers’ 40th anniversary with the Anthony Kimmins comedy The Amorous Prawn.
Performing at Blackfriars was very different from the venues that Playgoers had become used to. This was a proper theatre with professional facilities, and the audiences now expected a professional standard of performances, and Playgoers proved more than equal to the challenge.
At about this time, the acted play readings were dropped and replaced by highly successful club nights. The society decided to actively encourage the involvement of young people in the 14 to 18 age range and so formed a group known as ‘The Strolling Players’, run by Betty Lovell. Betty coached the youngsters and organised basic acting workshops. With her help, The Strolling Players performed The Great Cross Country Race, Trudi and the Minstrel, and Come In Captain Jacko with great success in the theatre.
The Society also performed the annual pantomime with great success for many years.
Going into the millennium, the Society was still going strong. In 2001, as Lincolnshire was known as ‘Bomber County’ during WW2, the society performed Bomber, written by Playgoers member John Lingard, about life on an RAF camp and the nearby village during the early years of the war. The first night was a Gala night, with food of the period available for the audience, and wartime memorabilia and photos in the foyer. This proved to be very popular and a significant contribution was made to RAF charities.
2018 was a big year for the society – we celebrated our 90th anniversary. We staged an Agatha Christie thriller – Love From a Stranger – in November 2018, following the success of The Hollow (also by Agatha Christie) when it was performed by the Society in February 2016. We were delighted when this play went on to win NODA’s award for best play in our region in 2018/2019. There was also archive material on display at Blackfriars showing the history of the last 90 years of Boston Playgoers’ productions, and a ‘reunion’ for past and present members in October 2018.
Like all other amateur dramatic societies across the world, Covid-19 and the resulting lockdowns meant that Boston Playgoers had to pause productions and any activities that meant groups of people meeting during 2020-2021. However, this did not stop the society from producing a short film, As the Crow Flies, in 2021 – written especially by member and local playwright Kei Bailey so that it could be filmed entirely outside, and in small groups. A radio version of Clever Clogs was also performed via Zoom.