As part of the Rye Arts Festival the Rye Players will be taking to the stage at St Mary's on Saturday September 15 with a production of Cathedral: 10 Minutes.Directed by Janet Stott the play tells the story of medieval intrigue with one man pitted against the might of the Church, it switches between the present day and the time of King John as the struggle unfolds between Bishop and landowner over the building of a cathedral.But who are the Rye Players? This is a new name at the festival. One of the cast, Pat Driver, explains,
“In the mid-19th century, we happily made our own fun and by 1899, the Rye Dramatic Society was a chief entertainer for the town. With music added to the repertoire, Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas played to packed houses at the monastery. In 1928, the group relaunched as The Rye Players and apart from minor blips such as war, the emergence of TV, ‘creative differences’, name changes and loss of venues, the spirit survives to this day.
“In recent years, another necessary restructure saw the formation of Acting Up in Rye, whose productions regularly fill Rye Community Centre. Meanwhile, the redoubtable Rye Shakespeare Company stages home-grown plays such as Shakespeare in Rye and Lucia and the Family Affair written and directed by Dilys Mayor. The cast and crew for the one-off production of Cathedral:10 Minutes, pools the talents of both groups and marks the resurgence of The Rye Players in this most creative of towns.”Tickets are on sale now priced at £6 and the play commences at 5:30pm
Photos: Carol Macdonald
