the english theatre company

An Evening With the English Theatre Company
Over the past decade, the English Theatre Company has staged around thirty productions, from polished rehearsed readings to full-scale theatrical performances. An Evening With the English Theatre Company was something rather different: a celebration not only of the shows we have staged, but of the friendships we have built along the way.

Over ten years, our actors, directors, backstage crew, technicians and, just as importantly, our audiences have become something of an extended family. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, including Vicky and Neelham from Compass Immobilier, the main sponsors of the English Theatre Company.

The Weather Gods did their best to defeat us. After a week of extraordinary heat, Saturday evening brought bright red faces, frantic fanning and perspiration everywhere. Rehearsal time had been curtailed, costume changes became even more challenging, and some sketches had to be cut from the programme. Yet, from the first burst of enthusiastic applause, we knew we were going to be all right on the night!

Part One took the audience on a monumental journey through time using sketches, songs and poems. Mr Ramsbottom, Mr Miller and Mr Weaver got the evening off to a flying start, the demise of poor King ’Arold went down a storm, Bill’s Best Bits revisited Shakespeare, and who could forget the sight of Fergie dancing around a tractor in polka-dot boxers? Amid the laughter were also some poignant moments that added depth to the evening.

Part Two became a joyous retrospective of ETC productions from the past ten years. Old favourites briefly sprang back to life, including Absurd Person Singular, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Vicar of Dibley, Quartet, Calendar Girls, ’Allo ’Allo! and Farndale. The audience laughed their way through memorable kisses, songs, duos, parrots and some wonderfully familiar characters.

There was inevitably a touch of melancholy in seeing these much-loved productions brought back to life for just a few fleeting moments. But that is the joy of theatre: one show ends and another is already waiting in the wings.

We remain proudly amateur, but we like to think we punch above our weight in keeping the spirit of English theatre alive here in south-west France. Above all, this special evening celebrated ten years of performances, laughter, friendship and shared memories — while looking forward to the many new memories still to come.

Some scenes from An Evening with ETC

Some scenes from the Farndale Murder Mystery:

Some scenes from Alternative Accomodation and A Dog’s Life

Some scenes from The Perfect Murder:

Some scenes from The 39 Steps:

Some scenes from our previous shows: