About Me

A Priory Engagement....

There are times when I am prouder than others that I decided to dedicate 18 years of my life growing and nurturing an arts and community charity. These past two weekends are a great case in point.

We collaborated with Norton Priory's 'Discover Sundays' programme bringing excerpts of both classic drama and freshly written pieces to the visiting public. Many did not know we were actually performing in the building until they arrived to view the museum and gardens. Two very nice women said to me on the first Sunday, 'we didn't even know this was happening but we will be sure to return next week'. They duly did and went away with real smiles on their faces, as did all those who sat transfixed at the quality of the performances and the professionalism of the VML Drama team. We took them through the famous seance from Blithe Spirit, to the emotional rollercoaster of Of Mice and Men into a stand out excerpt of The Importance of Being Earnest - the  handbag scene no less. 

We had comedy from Shakespeare, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead by Tom Stoppard and ended with the lovely witches of MacBeth.

Sunday 20th saw excerpts form Bouncers, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time and Prima Facie. We had two freshly written pieces for the occasion - 'The Cellar of Doctor Addison' and 'Priories and Poltergeists' written by Dan Hibbert and Lydia Harrison respectively. Two writers to watch out for in future productions I feel.

It would be wrong of me to single out any one performance but such a joy for me as group founder and leader to see the blossoming talents of people whom I believe passionately in; people I think deserve to be seen because their talent shines through when they are given the correct opportunities.

I hope that the collobaration with the Priory is an ongoing thing because it introduces us to newer audiences that we would lose out on if we concentrated purely on local theatre venues. The Priory has so much going for it and a team behind it who are as passionate about the arts as they are about history.

The arts are the life-blood of any country or community. They define who we are and sit nicely in historic places where they can be brought to life with a real sense of the past and what has gone before.

I am always continually grateful for a positive response from an audience, it proves we are doing our job well!

July 2025.

Check out the Norton Priory website for all their events and visiting times.