Celebrating 60 Years with an Exciting New Production
- Emma Cianchi
- May 20
- 2 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Sixty years ago, in 1965, village stalwart Sybil Stephenson gathered some friends together and put on a production of the comedy Quiet Wedding in the URC hall in Twyford. This led to the creation of Twyford & Ruscombe Theatre Group, the main aim of which was to provide staged entertainment for the local region.
The group has, since then, provided regular shows in the form pantomimes (from The Dragon’s Egg to Cinderella), comedy (Noises Off and 'Allo 'Allo), murder mystery (Rope and Time to Kill), and drama (Lady Windermere’s Fan and the recent Blithe Spirit), as well as productions by playwrights from Shakespeare to Terry Pratchett.
We rehearsed, built sets, and stored costumes in the Polehampton Old Boys' School (now converted to form Twyford’s new library) for more than 50 years. Now known as Twyford Drama, our new home is at Loddon Hall (where we have staged our productions ever since the early days) and we are this year celebrating our Diamond Anniversary.
Consequently, our October production in 2025, Diamond Gems, will not be a single play. We will instead be decorating the hall and transforming it into a cabaret-style layout with tables for 4-6 people and inclusive tickets that will provide every audience member with entertainment, refreshments, and a souvenir programme.
In recent years we have formed a playwriting group and will be performing five of their short plays along with some other well-known drama and musical items of song and dance with live music accompaniment and an MC to lead you from one act to the next.
Jocelyn Robinson will be organising the overall programme of performances as well as directing one of the plays. The whole event will involve a large number of local people pulling out all the stops to bring you a show to remember – a sparkling cocktail of song, dance, and drama.
There will be three performances – two evening events and a matinee with tea and cakes. Please note that tickets must be bought in advance.
So put October 10th and 11th in your diaries and come and join us for our special celebration. We can't wait to see you there!
