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New Nomad Theatre (The) NOMAD Players Ltd SOUTHERN REGION Show Location This Theatre is a Full Member of the LTG

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Year Ending 31st Aug - 2011

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Calamity Jane Ronal Hammer and Phil Park 61 364 Insignificance Terry Johnson 25 148 Seasons Greetings Alan Ayckbourn 70 420 Likes of Us (The) Rice and LLoyd Webber 55 795 Wonderful Compilation 49 118 History of Mr Polly (The) H G Wells 46 275 Cranford Mrs Gaskell (ad. Kay) 30 182 Kiss Me Kate Sam and Bella Spewack 66 98 Bugsy Malone Alan Parker and Paul Williams Nomes (under 16) Youth 100 498 Going for Gold Anita Sullivan Play in a week - Disability Access Theatre 58 140 Rope Patrick Hamilton Studio 84 123 Finding Me / Becoming Me Young Nomads and Nomes - Youth 95 137       Total: 3298

Report on Year The Nomad year has seen audience levels ranging from 103% for Bugsy Malone (We put in extra chairs) a Nome production, to 30% for Insignificance a Nomads production. In all we mounted 12 productions. We were delighted to welcome a number of newcomers to our ranks including both actors and directors. Our annual “Play in aWeek” goes from strength to strength with well over 50 participants, from the disabled and their carers to those who provided transport and refreshments, not to mention the director and all his crew. This season’s theme was the Olympics and we all learned how to play Boccia, which was one of the sports featured in Going for Gold. The discussion continues as to what to do with the bequest of £220,000 from a deceased member who was with us for 40 years and plans are being considered for the replacement of our bar building at present made of wood.We shall see! Plans for 2011/2012: Productions of: Tonight At 8.30, A Murder Has Been Announced, Babes In The Wood and Arsenic And Old Lace.

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2010

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Man for All Seasons (A) Robert Bolt 48 289 Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 John Bishop 40 238 Puss in Boots Norman Robbins 51 740 Death Defying Acts May, David Mamet, Allen 17 104 Bugsy Malone Alan Parker and Paul Williams Nomes (under 16) - Youth 10 492 Going for Gold Anita Sullivan Play in a week - Disability Access Theatre 58 140 Splendour Abi Morgan Studio 67 120       Total: 2123

Report on Year The past year has not been an easy one with one main house production being cancelled due to casting problems. Other shows have not achieve their full potential.  The snows of January affected the audience numbers for the pantomime and Death Defying Acts suffered from a computer glitch that showed that it was full and probably from the fact that it was a trilogy. It did however get excellent reviews. In the coming year we are hoping to produce shows with a more popular appeal. Our work with the young has gone from strength to strength with their show Bugsy Malone showing to full houses. We had our usual very successful Play in a Week for the disabled, with over 30 taking part. As we were participating in the London 2012 Open Weekend, the play, Going for Gold, was set during the Paralympics of 2012.  Because of the number of theatre groups in Surrey there is a strong demand for good and experienced actors who do not stay within one group but go where their talents are best utilised. In common with other theatres we are not able to produce plays that call for actors of all age groups and therefore a large number of plays are denied us. Plans for 2010/11: Productions of: Rope, Insignificance, Season’s Greetings, The Likes of Us and Cranford

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2009

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Hotel Paradiso Georges Faydeau 63 451 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 49 295 Annie Thomas Meehan Charles Strouss and Martin Charnin 71 1024 Government Inspector (The) Nikolai Gogol 53 319 My Fair Lady Lerner & Loewe 68 406 Breaking the Code Hugh Whitemore 39 188 Pandemonium Jennifer Toksvig and David Perkins Youth - Nomes (under 16) 96 460 Big Top Underworld Anita Sullivan Play in a week - Disability Access Theatre 63 151 20ft High, 30ft Deep Richard Vincent Studio Theatre 91 55 Tomfoolery R Ray & C Mackintosh Studio Theatre 68 136       Total: 3485

Report on Year We tried again to run a weekly cinema club this time aimed at a retired audience. We wanted to show classical films such as Ealing comedies but audiences remained uneconomic and we ceased this in March. The Nomes put on two shows; a short devised piece on global warming shown in the studio then another Toksvig musical Pandemonium in the main auditorium. Both were well produced and the all round standard was high. Play in a Week was our best yet, this time the script was written in advance with the cast?s abilities in mind. Forty adults with learning disabilities rehearsed scenes from Monday to Friday then performed twice at the weekend some acting as backstage crew. They were supported by a large team of drivers, prompters, carers and those who provided teas and lunch. Of our main Nomad shows Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Annie, The Government Inspector and Breaking the Code stood out as superb examples of amateur theatre with excellent acting, staging and direction. Tomfoolery was an experiment for us, a show in August, in the studio with a mini stage and space for 50 seats. It proved to be worthwhile. Although our shows this year earned more money than last year we made an overall loss as the gas and electricity bills were so high. Plans for 2009/2010: Productions of: A Man for all Seasons, Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Puss in Boots, A Streetcar Named Desire and Educating Rita

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2008

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Two for Dinner Matt Board and Laurence Armitage 83 90 Last Tango in Little Grimley David Tristram 37 94 'Allo 'Allo Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft 84 506 Taking Sides Ronald Harwood 24 143 Aladdin and the Standard Lamp Devised 65 929 Gift of the Gorgon (The) Peter Shaffer 53 319 Gondoliers (The) Gilbert & Sullivan 45 109 Viva! La Costa Pip Burley 62 374 Shake Ripple and Roll Jenifer Toksvig and David Perkins Nomes (under 16) 99 477 Archivist (The) Devised Play in a Week - Access Theatre 80 193 Adam and Eve ... and Eric Terry Newman Young Nomads 16 20 Coping and Hoping Sam Ruffles Studio 79 111       Total: 3365

Report on Year We started last year with a stage 'spin-off' from a TV series, 'Allo, 'Allo. BLOS put on a one night Old Time Music Hall but sadly didn't get much of an audience. Taking Sides followed which was beset with casting problems, but on the night, no-one would have known it. We offered 4 film matinees over the Christmas holidays, aimed at a youthful audience but we didn't get the crowds needed. One film we picked turned out to be on television the day before! January is panto time (every other year) and 2008 saw an original show Aladdin and the Standard Lamp. Camille the Camel stole the show and a nice touch was the principals appearing in the front lobby at the end of the matinees. March saw The Gift of the Gorgon - a very impressive staging of a rarely performed work. We then had a studio production Coping & Hoping. This was a new work, the first by Sam Ruffles, and was very well received by all who saw it. Then followed our friends from Bookham Light Opera with a production of the well-known Gilbert & Sullivan operetta; The Gondoliers. In May we had yet another new work, Viva! La Costa written & directed by Pip Burley. No show in June but as soon as July started The Nomes presented Shake Ripple & Roll, directed by our tutors, Nina Holmes & Mel Hyde. Three weeks later and it was time for Play in Week, this year The Archivist. To round off the year there was, at the end of August, Adam and Eve... and Eric. After various false starts, we ended up performing it as a radio play. Plans for 2008/09: Productions of: Hotel Paradiso, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead", Annie, A Government Inspector, My Fair Lady, A Streetcar Named Desire and Breaking the Code.

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2007

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Professor Brain wave and the Fantastical Machine Dylan Lothian Nomes (under 16) 72 344 Forest Devised Play in a Week - Access Theatre 100 120 Good Stuff Devised Young Nomads 38 135 Lion in Winter (The) James Goldman 77 370 Christmas Carol (A) Charles Dickens (ad. John Mortimer) 75 1075 Separate Tables Terence Rattigan 60 286 Mikado (The) Gilbert and Sullivan 43 153 Art Yasmina Reza 42 250 Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (The) CS. Lewis (ad. Glyn Robbins) Nomes (under 16) 73 352 Key (The) Devised Play in a Week - Access Theatre 90 216 Shirley Valentine Willy Russell 50 121 Talking Heads Alan Bennett Studio Theatre 82 119       Total: 3541

Report on Year The season proper began with The Lion in Winter. We should then have seen Art, but due to unforeseen circumstances this was put back until later in the season. So there was a gap in the programme until A Christmas Carol in January. This was going to be followed by Waiting in the Wings but we were unable to find the necessary 18 actors to take part! A quick rethink resulted in Separate Tables. We then had a film night in February. Previously we have had to hire both projector and screen for such an evening but with our own projector bought (with a grant last year) and a screen acquired (allegedly half of the one from the Southend Odeon) we are now self-sufficient! A new venture, another society (local group, Bookham Light Operatic Society) joining us en-block, resulted in a two-night production of The Mikado in April. We hope to have the BLOS back with us, again, in the near future. We then, finally, had Art, rescheduled to May, and the end of June saw the junior group in The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe. We now have a new main tutor and organiser for our junior group, Nina Holmes, and under her direction we hope the youth contingent of the theatre will go from strength to strength! July has now become the time for Play in A Week and this year it was The Key with two performances to cope with audience demand! Plans for 2007/2008: Productions of: ?Allo ?Allo, Taking Sides, The Gift of the Gorgon and Viva La Costa, a new play by Pip Burley, producer of A Touch of Frost

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2006

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl (ad.Richard George) Nomes (under 16) 105 502 Quest Devised Play in a Week - Access Theatre 77 92 Last Chance Peter Forbes Young Nomads 31 75 Noises Off Michael Frayn 77 459 Amadeus Peter Shaffer 64 383 Snow White Dennis Critchley 78 1123 Kiss of Death Simon Williams 54 324 Stop the World! I Want to Get Off Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley 48 287 Red Devils Debbie Horsfield Studio Theatre 72 152 Oleanna David Mamet 65 137       Total: 3534

Report on Year An ambitious setting for Noises Off ? trying to get 6 doorways into a six-metre wide stage, with room for a window ? started off the autumn season. Our revolving stage came into its own. As part of the Mole Valley?s Arts Alive 2005, we hosted a seminar on ?Set Design for the Small Stage? which proved very worthwhile for those who attended. Amadeus also made constant use of the revolve as did Snow White and Kiss of Death. The mechanism is now starting to wear out and we need to plan for expensive and possibly lengthy repairs since it will need to be completely dismantled leaving a large hole in the stage! Health & Safety issues have taken up a lot of time with our insurers insisting on an enormous amount of paperwork. An external tutor gave a one day seminar on Risk Assessment in the Theatre which benefited our keener members. Our children?s group continues to flourish with over 100 youngsters receiving tuition each week, but we are running into increasing difficulty in finding parents who are willing to undergo training as a chaperone to comply with Local Authority requirements. We were unable to run summer holiday classes because of lack of adult backup. Plans for 2006/7 Productions of: The Lion in Winter, Art & A Christmas Carol. Play in a Week is already scheduled for July 2007

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2005

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Sleuth Anthony Shaffer 51 307 Gulliver?s Travels Devised Nomes (under 16) - Youth 69 332 Teechers John Godber Young Nomads - Youth 51 244 Grimms? Tales Richard Fentiman Play in a Week - Access Theatre 87 104 Barefoot in the Park Neil Simon 76 454 Sound of Music Rogers & Hammerstein 86 1238 Old Time Music Hall 62 223 Vagina Monologues Eve Ensler 50 119 Month of Sundays (A) Bob Larby 49 234 Love and Understanding Joe Penhall Studio Theatre 93 111       Total: 3366

Report on Year Our autumn season began with us hosting the Southern Region Conference and Barefoot in the Park as the last night entertainment. A new committee has been active in trying to attract new members and directors. Regrettably, our Technical Director, who had pro-theatre experience had to move away from the area as a result of a new job. Our lovely ?new? theatre is already showing its age with one wheelchair lift needing expensive repairs. The next unwelcome expense is replacement of all the flying lines, which are starting to deteriorate. The new Licensing Act has involved a lot of extra paperwork but we have obtained our licence without any problems. Two members have had to get Personal Licences to supervise the sale of alcohol in the bar. Going back to college after a 40-year break was an interesting experience for them. We continue to support accessible theatre. As well as our, now, regular ?Play in a Week? we have also run acting workshops especially for disabled actors. These were very popular and will run again in the forthcoming year. Happily this sort of activity can attract significant grant aid which helps to defray the cost of the events. Studio productions in the intimate rehearsal room have re-started, with great artistic success. We have also had a number of successful social evenings to try and restore the club atmosphere. Plans for 2005/6 Productions of: Noises Off, Amadeus and Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. Play in a Week is already scheduled for July 2006.

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2004

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold House Devised 85 101 Man Of La Mancha Dale Wasserman 77 460 Cherry Orchard (The) Anton Chekov 56 333 Mother Goose Verne Morgan 81 873 Steel Magnolias Robert Harling 39 232 Henry V William Shakespeare 76 640       Total: 2639

Report on Year Although we staged fewer productions than in the previous year we have some exciting shows, in particular the production of Henry V with a cast of 34, mostly men. All the productions were on our main stage. Thence the low number of seats sold for Steel Magnolias which was originally intended to be a studio production. With all the other activities in the theatre the rehearsal room, our studio venue, was needed for rehearsals for shows in the theatre and also festival entries elsewhere, Young Nomad activities, an increased number of children's workshops and inclusive projects involving actors with disabilities. Our children's workshops were redesigned, each session lasting two hours with two tutors. The numbers increased from 35 to nearly 100. During the summer holidays two week long courses were run and introduced more young people to the theatre. The Young Nomads have continued to provide plenty of help with most productions as well as holding their own weekly activities; they now also have a weekly dance workshop. The activities involving actors with disabilities have expanded and have included a series of workshops for beginners, a play mounted in a week, the sixth year, and a further show staged by a group participating in the National Theatre's Shell Connections project, presenting a new play by Patrick Marber. A group of our members of retirement age have started recording short radio plays to be added to each edition of Surrey's Talking Newspaper. Members of all ages played a major role in the production of a community play, The Wey We Were, organised by two local borough councils and presented in the Farnham Maltings and the Nomad Theatre

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2003

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Legend of No-Name 97 115 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Dale Wasserman 85 440 Wizard of Oz (The) L Frank Baum 97 1143 Latin / Secrets Stephen Fry / Jane Martin 77 225 Stuff Rowan Bangs 66 80 Sweet Charity Dorothy Field and Cy Coleman 66 398 Gin Game (The) D.L Coburn 66 124       Total: 2525

Report on Year After much discussion we have embarked on a programme of improvements to the theatre. The flat roof on the Rehearsal and Green Room has been renewed and these rooms re-decorated. We have also replaced the heating system, which apart from keeping the audience warm, also means the bar staff have access to hot water. The bar area is also about to be decorated. The cost of this work amounted to nearly ?6,000 which was met from our reserves. As a Society we have always tried to budget for a profit each year. As a result over the years we have accumulated a reasonable reserve to meet just such commitments. We continued our policy of entering One Act Drama Festivals and again met with success at Richmond. This was an interesting experience, as we had to act on a thrust stage rather than our proscenium arch. With only one hour of rehearsal permitted it was an interesting challenge having to change many of the moves. The prompt found it particularly challenging, as she could not see the actors. Last year we were concerned about the effects of the opening of the City's 510 seat Gala Theatre. That theatre has been beset by numerous financial and organisational problems. They now appear to have virtually given up on drama and concentrating on using it as a concert and one night performance venue. Fortunately our audience remained very loyal and the average capacity was only slightly reduced at 84% (last year 88%). We are now considering a number of new initiatives to boost audience numbers. We are now planning our 75th Anniversary Season for 2004, which will be a programme of revivals of past productions last seen over 10 years ago. In addition, we will be producing a souvenir booklet covering the history of the society, plus comments from producers. In July we are holding a "Floral and Costume extravaganza". This is being funded by a sponsorship drive which has already yielded ?1250.

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2002

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Hay Fever No?l Coward 92 549 Jack and the Beanstalk Peter Forbes 94 998 What the Butler Saw Joe Orton 61 366 Memory of Water (The) Shelagh Stephenson 76 453 Nine Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit 71 597 Sherlock Holmes Richard Brookman 67 318 Popcorn Ben Elton 74 439 Canterbury Tales (The) Martin Starkie and Neville Coghill 52 248 Lover (The) Harold Pinter 83 135 One for the Road Willy Russell 83 135       Total: 4238

Report on Year This was the year that we finally settled with the builder after receiving the final part of our lottery grant from the Arts Council of England. At last we own the theatre. Over the four years that we have been in our new theatre we have managed to start building up, from revenue, a reserve fund to be able to deal with any unexpected needs. Although we have had two fewer productions than in the previous year we have still maintained the same level of revenue profit. Success in gaining useful sponsorship for some of our activities has played a part in achieving this. The programme has included an interesting range of productions. We took Popcorn to the Bedlam Theatre for the Edinburgh Fringe and like The Crucible two years ago it was a sell out. Several of our shows have been written by members, including some one act plays, one of which was taken to a local Drama Festival. Our activities have included more children?s drama workshops for 7 to 14 year olds, There are now eight each week. The Young Nomads have played a key part in our main productions, particularly back stage, as well as staging their own production and even trying a little street theatre locally. The number of people attending our monthly lunches with theatre talks has continued to increase and four local disability organisations participated in our annual week long project, involving some 75 members on and back stage.

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2001

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Cabaret Masteroff/Kander/Ebb 100 714 Bugsy Malone Alan Parker and Paul Williams 85 407 Talking Heads Alan Bennett 79 131 Tempest (The) William Shakespeare 66 404 Oliver! Lionel Bart 100 949 Calamity Jane Charles.F Freeman 90 424 Company Stephen Sondheim 91 543 Fabric Henry Ong 73 116 Les Liaisons Dangereuse Christopher Hampton 87 522 Gingerbread Man (The) David Wood 100 243 Wind in the Willows (The) Kenneth Grahame (ad. John Morley) 73 347       Total: 4800

Report on Year

Year Ending 31st Aug - 2000

Productions Production Author Comment % Capacity Seats Sold Billy Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall 79 476 Oh! What a Lovely War Charles Chilton / Theatre Workshop 100 600 Interview Jean-Claude Van-Italie 94 93 Deathtrap Ira Levin 81 485 Peter Pan J.M Barrie 100 1200 Crucible (The) Arthur Miller 76 453 Stevie Hugh Whitemore 60 99 After Magritte Tom Stoppard 43 156 Cagebirds David Campton 0 0 My Mother Said I Never Should Charlotte Keatley 100 150 Run for Your Wife Ray Cooney 60 401 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 65 314 Absurd Person Singular Alan Ayckbourn 93 546       Total: 4973

Report on Year Starting our second year in our new theatre we wondered if the novelty might wear off, but this has not been the case as the statistics above indicate. Again we have had a varied programme using both our main theatre and our studio space. Several shows have been 100% sold or close to it. To celebrate our second successful year we took our production of The Crucible to the Bedlam Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe for a week and sold every seat in the 98 seat venue. It was our first visit to the Festival. Our children's workshops have been extended, with a new one on Friday evenings to add to the three on Saturday mornings. There has been an increased interest in our Young Nomads. Indeed, this was exemplified by the number of young men in their summer musical. Our Play in a Week project, with half the cast wheelchair users, is being repeated with larger numbers this year. We received another Access Award, this time from the Mayor of Guildford. We organised our first ever film evening and with the support it received we are now planning to hold them as a regular feature. We have run two training days, one on Mask Theatre run by the Trestle Theatre and another on Radio Play writing. Our one major worry is recruiting enough members to keep such a varied programme going. The only professional we have is the tutor for our children and youth programme.

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