2017
Trap for a Lonely Man
After being unable to make City Players’ previous production (Boeing Boeing, which I heard great things about) I was glad to be back at the welcoming Corner Playhouse for the group’s take on Robert Thomas’ murder mystery Trap For A Lonely Man.
2016
It's Never Too Late
On a chilly February night a full house packed into the locally renowned Corner Playhouse, this time to watch an altogether different presentation, Ron Aldridge’s mid-life crisis comedy 'It’s Never Too Late.'
2015
I'll Be Back Before Midnight
After their last production of Tim Firth’s ensemble comedy ‘The Safari Party,’ the City Players took a turn towards the macabre, presenting the spine-tingling Peter Colley thriller, ‘I’ll Be Back Before Midnight.’
Neighbourhood Watch
This is Yorkshire playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s 75th written play, and the City Players here deliver a performance to show there’s still plenty of life in his work.
2014
Web of Murder
In her brooding Victorian mansion high on the cliffs overlooking the ocean rich, eccentric and manipulative Minerva Osterman has called together her potential heirs for an advance reading of her will.
No Love Lost
With the weather sizzling outside, a packed audience placed themselves into the ever glorious Corner Playhouse for a new complex romantic comedy.
Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders (Doorsteppa)
The City Players performed in front of a packed house, as they took on this lively original comedy by Derek Webb. The story is centred on Chortleby Village Hall where several bizarre murders begin to occur coinciding with the visit of crime novelist and super sleuth Agatha Crusty.
Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders (Eckington Leader)
Chortleby’s All Saints Village Hall was the setting for plenty of chuckles from the audience with this latest performance by Eckington's City Players.
2013
FlatSpin (Doorsteppa)
It is hard to believe that it is over two years since the Doorsteppa team first visited the Corner Playhouse in Eckington on a chilly Autumn night for a thoroughly enjoyable night’s entertainment watching their performance of House Guest.
FlatSpin (Eckington Leader)
Set in a Docklands apartment with out of work actor Rosie Seymour (Amanda Whelan) acting as temporary janitor; ‘FlatSpin’ revolves around the theme that adopting a false identity may seem a good idea at the time but can quickly come unstuck when others are playing the same game.
Blood Money
Tension filled and offering up more than one surprise during its action packed course, the ensemble cast play Nick Di Nitto’s ‘Blood Money’ at full throttle.
Blythe Spirit (Doorsteppa)
The City Players had taken on many comedies in my two years reviewing their plays, but this was perhaps the most infamous of them all: Noel Coward’s ‘Blithe Spirit’.
Blythe Spirit (Eckington Leader)
The City Players have an unerring knack of choosing just the right plays to perform and in Noel Coward’s 1940’s Blithe Spirit they opted for one which displayed their talents in abundance.
2012
Don't Rock the Boat
The City Players latest production is a light comedy which combines realistic characters with topical relevance creating much laughter.
Snake in the Grass
As the curtains open on the City Players latest production a visual treat unfolds as the unkempt grounds of the family home, together with dilapidated tennis court and summer house, are brought into view.
One for the Road
It was the suggestion of Director Philip Mantle that Sam White undertook the exacting monologue 'Her Big Chance' written by Alan Bennet – and one which she delivered with aplomb.
2011
House Guest
On a chilly dark Autumn night in Eckington, we were more than happy to take a few hours shelter in the charming Corner Playhouse Eckington, where great entertainment, hot tea and coffee, wine and friendly faces were in plentiful supply.
Nobody's Fool
The shy and timid Lenny (Mike Parkinson-Brown), an un-willingly divorced statistician, hides a secret from the outside world. Lenny has an alter ego, writhing under the female pseudonym, Myrtle Banbury, he is a best selling romantic author who shares a house with his father, ladies man and technical wizard Gus (Phillip Hadley), and his teenage daughter Dee Dee (Cheryl Hardy).
2010
Neville's Island
Set on Rapsholme Island at Derwent Water in the Lake District, 'Neville's Island' is a fast talking comedy. Set in thick fog, it tells the story of four middle aged business men who have been sent on a team building exercise one very cold, miserable weekend in November and who succeed in finding themselves to be the first people shipwrecked inland.
Inspector Drake and the Perfekt Crime
With a Warthog's head, a container of sulphuric acid, a barrage of corny jokes, double entendres and numerous visual gags, this spoof on a 'whodunit' was full of comic highlights and chaotic situations.
2009
Play On!
It was a murder most funny at the Corner Playhouse when the City Players presented American Rick Abbot's comedy. 'Play on', set on the stage of a community theatre showing what transpires behind the scenes as a local amateur drama group prepare for their latest production, a cast of characters playing a cast of characters...
April in Paris
The team of Philip Hadley and Margaret Thompson bring a depth and empathy to the characters of husband and wife Al and Bet, a Yorkshire couple who lead a quiet and humdrum life until Bet wins a romantic break, the prize being a trip to Paris.
Take Away the Lady
By way of a change from their usual production of comic farces, the City Players produced a finely-tuned, old-fashioned English drawing room murder mystery where the protagonist had a very good motive for murder. Not once, but twice.
Who Killed Santa Claus
It's time for the annual Christmas party for the production team of a popular children's television series and they are all due to gather at the home of its presenter, Barbara Love (Pat Miatt).