Broad Hinton Amateur Dramatic Society

(BHADS)

About BHADS:

An informal group of amateur actors and actresses from the parish of Broad Hinton, Uffcott and Winterbourne Bassett initially got together in the 1990s to present cabaret at Harvest Festival Dinners and Christmas Suppers in Broad Hinton Village Hall.

They ambitiously decided in 2000 to present The Sound of Music? in Broad Hinton’s Millennium Marquee. This comedy version – adults playing children, men taking women’s parts etc – was hugely successful. Demand for tickets could not be met, even allowing for standing room at the back.

There was clearly an appetite for theatrical entertainment in our community and, following on this success, Broad Hinton Amateur Dramatic Society (BHADS) was formed. The productions starting from Christmas 2000 have been:

Winter 2000 Cinderella

Summer 2001 Hay Fever (Noel Coward)

Winter 2001 Snow White

Summer 2002 A Murder Is Announced (adapted from Agatha Christie)

Winter 2002 Ali Baba

Summer 2003 Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime (adapted from Oscar Wilde)

Winter 2003 Pinocchio

Summer 2004 Bonaventure (Charlotte Hastings)

Winter 2004 The Three Musketeers

Summer 2005 Farndale Avenue Murder Mystery (McGillivray & Zerlin)

Winter 2005 Aladdin

Summer 2006 The Drunkard (Brian Burton)

Winter 2006 Jack And The Beanstalk

Summer 2007 Chase Me Up Farndale Avenue, S’il Vous Plait (as above)

Winter 2007 Treasure Island

Summer 2008 A Letter From The General (Maurice McLoughlin)

Winter 2008 Everyman (Fifteenth Century Morality Play)

Summer 2009 The Importance of being Earnest

Winter 2010 Peter Pan

All performances up to Summer 2008 were performed in the old Broad Hinton Village Hall, a 1963 Hall which had a stage but no changing rooms – actors (adult and child) had to change in tents on the School field, no joke in freezing conditions in the pantomime seasons.

As a result, BHADS was a leading supporter of the initiative to fund a new Village Hall, donating its spare profits to the Appeal. The old Hall was taken down in 2008 and the new Hall, which opened on 9 May, 2009, staged its first production less than two months later.

To bridge the gap when there was no Hall, Everyman was performed in four local churches on successive nights, a considerable feat in production terms when each venue varied considerably, eg with the pulpit (from which God spoke) on different sides of the churches, and vastly different acting areas.

BHADS today has a membership of 40. The age of the actors ranges from 8-80. BHADS is run by a 7-strong committee and is affiliated to the National Operatic & Dramatic Association. Through its productions, adults and children who had never been on stage before have been successfully introduced to acting. Others have learned the skills of set design, set building, lighting & sound, costume making, programme & ticket design and printing.

BHADS has led isolated individuals to participate in group activities and its productions have become an eagerly awaited event in the social calendar of our villages.

For further information, including an opportunity to take part, contact Sally Cartwright

on 01793 731050.