Info

The Saracens Theatre company are a medium sized amateur theatre company based in Kings Norton, which is in the South West corner of the city.

We perform a wide variety of shows from Thrillers & Musicals to Comedies & Pantomimes See Past Shows to get an idea!

We stage two productions each year including an annual pantomime of which the next one - Robinson Crusoe - will be in January (in line with the Panto season), instead of occupying the traditional November slot. This is not the biggest change that is happening to our company: due to uncertainty over the future of St Nicolas Hall - the home of many of our previous productions and rehearsals - this will no longer be our venue. Watch this space for details.

The History of Our Company

In 1951 a group of members of St Nicolas Church got together to discuss the possibility of forming an amateur dramatics society. There was a lot of enthusiasm and the St Nicolas Amateur Dramatics society was formed.

The first president was the Rev. Edward Ashford and was very supportive (even today we carry on the tradition of inviting the rector to be president of the group).

At that time there was no church hall so we rehearsed and performed in the Saracens Head. (The Saracens Head is a 15th Century building that was originally a Bailiffs house, and there is evidence to suggest that buildings stood on the site dating back even earlier).

There was no stage and a makeshift one had to be built and taken down again for each production - this often involved many hours of hard work.

There were no proper dressing rooms and the cast had to get changed downstairs and then go up to the hall by means of an outside fire escape, from which entrances and exits were made to and from the "Stage".

The actors would have to stand outside on the fire escape awaiting their entrances in all sorts of weather from rain and snow to howling gales.

The first production in 1953 was three 1 act plays, "The spinsters of Lush" by Phillip Johnson, "If men played cards as women do" by George S Faufman & "The friends of Valerie Lane" by Dolland Parsons.

In November 1953 we performed our first three-act play "Quiet Weekend" by Esther McCracken.

Normally three productions were performed each year, in March, May and November.

When St Nicolas Hall was built in the early 1960s the group was afforded the luxury of being able to perform on a proper stage for the first time.

Our first production in the hall was "Quiet Wedding". Some time after this it was felt better to drop the word "Amateur" from the groups title, though of course all our members were still amateurs - that is unpaid.

In November 1983 the first Pantomime was produced, "Robinson Crusoe" which was a huge success. Dancers from the Rita Cashmore School of Dance were used and a pianist provided the music.

It was such a success that it was decided to drop the November play and do a pantomime each year instead.

This tradition carries on today and we continue to write our own scripts so the panto remains truly original.

In 2001 we decided to change the name again, as we wanted something a bit more upbeat and modern.

Still wanting to keep our ties with the church we adopted the name of the building where we first started and continue to use for meeting and rehearsals, The Saracens Head, so the group became known as The Saracen's Theatre Company.

Joining the Group

The easiest way to get involved is to come along to one of the rehearsals or auditions and we are currently auditioning for Robinson Crusoe - so why not come along?

If acting is not really your cup of tea then we would be glad of your involvment in other ways: set-design and construction; stage management; lighting and sound; selling programmes; helping out front of house; or with publicity.