When the most evil villain of them all, Queen Jezabella, meets her maker there is only one super sleuth who’ll solve the crime, Dame Agatha Twisty. Featuring all your favourite panto characters this show has five possible endings and courtesy of an audience vote it’s up to the audience to decide whodunit and how our show ends. Performed entirely online and in isolation this show puts a whodunit twist on the traditional pantomime.

And we are pleased that after a fabulous set of online auditions we can announce our cast for the show.

Congratulations to all those who will be involved, we’re pleased to welcome new members to the group for their first SMP show and welcome back many familiar faces too.

The show will be directed by Ellie Ashby and all of the technical aspects of putting on the show are being skillfully looked after by Dave Stoughton and our freinds at PSA Audio Visual

The show will take place online at 2.30pm on Sunday 2nd August using an online conferencing platform. You can watch the show by making a donation (suggested £5 per house) all money raised will be share by those in the arts affected by the current lockdown. Once you have done so please email us on SMPTheatre@hotmail.com and we can share the link so that you can join us. The show can be watched at home and the conferencing software works best on desktops but it can also be viewed on modern phones and tablets. You can mingle with other members of the audience before, during and after the performance so you can catch up with those you’ve been missing during lockdown.

We hope you join us for the show as we all find out WHODUNIT??!!

This was not an easy decision to make, but we believe that this is the right choice to protect both our audiences but also our friends, family, cast and crew. Rehearsals for Legally Blonde will cease this week. The decision was also made at this early stage to safeguard the group financially.

SMP Theatre had planned to take part in the 2020 Welwyn Drama Festival, but sadly this event has been cancelled. We hope to take part in 2021 and that when it becomes possible we can put on an evening of plays locally.  

We also hope to put on a fundraising cabaret performance to help those who have supported our productions behind the scenes and now face tough times as a result of the current situation and numerous cancellations of their services. We hope that when we do so we can call on your support to attend.  

If you have already booked you tickets for Legally Blonde the Millfield Theatre will contact you in due course regarding a refund. Please give them ample time to do so. As you can imagine they are incredibly busy at the moment. 

We hope that everyone is safe, and that anyone that needs support is able to get some. Please feel free to reach out to us via social media or email for some entertainment, or human contact during these times of isolation.

We thank everyone for their continued support of us and we will see you all very soon!

In the meantime we are screening our old pantomimes on our Facebook page so please keep an eye on our page for the next chance to see one of our shows.

Well here we are. 2020 has arrived, not only a new year but a new decade. 2019 is officially over, and what a year it has been here at SMP.

New Year’s Day 2019 saw us again representing the London Borough of Enfield at the London Lord Mayor’s New Year’s Day parade. The theme this year was ‘Welcome the World’ so we presented our vision of an English country garden picnic come to life, complete with dancing maypole. Spending the first day of the new year dancing through central London together has been a wonderful way to kick off 2017, 2018 and 2019, and we were so honoured to be asked to represent the borough three years in a row.

January was a busy month as we then moved swiftly on to our pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We take great pride in producing one of the best amateur pantomimes around and this was no exception. The week was particularly special to all of us as it was not only our last performance at the Intimate Theatre, but the last performance there at all. The final show and get out on the Sunday was bittersweet as we said goodbye to our beloved home. Many tears were shed – of sadness, of anger, of frustration and of laughter at all the happy memories made there. We continue to fight against the plans to demolish the Theatre every step of the way, but we are equally proud that, if Snow White does prove to be the last show ever played on that historic stage, we gave it a fitting send off.

Luckily we had one of our favourite events of the year in the calendar very soon after to help ease the Post Show Blues. Our principal cast journeyed to St. Elizabeth’s in Much Haddam to present an abridged version of the show to the residents there. Thank you to all of the staff and residents, as ever, for welcoming us so warmly.

A brief pause and then it was on to our June 2019 summer show. Again, this marked a big change to our usual programming. Not a musical, but Shakespeare in the form of Much Ado About Nothing, and not on a traditional stage but an immersive promenade production in the beautiful surroundings of Bury Lodge Park. Of course, we made sure it was Shakespeare with an SMP twist. Producing a full play outdoors, complete with lighting, music and cream teas (!) was a huge challenge but as ever we are lucky to have lots of very clever people who help make it possible. The positive feedback for the production was overwhelming and we hope to return to the park in the future with more outdoor immersive theatre.

The following summer months was not our usual restful period. Alongside having to leave the Intimate Theatre we also were informed we could no longer use our long standing rehearsal, costume and set storage spaces. An enormous shout out to all those involved in finding and providing the solutions, and in helping move everything over safely – a mammoth undertaking.

Panto season was then upon us again, earlier than usual as our move to the Chingford Assembly Hall meant the show being pushed forward into December. Not daunted by putting on three full scale productions in one calendar year rather than our usual two, we threw ourselves back into panto land to present Cinderella. We were pleased to welcome lots of new faces to the group, including our children’s chorus. The lead up to show week wasn’t always smooth sailing as we had to navigate the technical and logistical challenges of a new venue, but the show was another great success sprinkled with SMP magic.

Away from the stage lights it has also been a very exciting year for many members in their personal lives. Weddings, engagements, babies, new jobs and house moves have all featured. As it was recently put, SMP is ‘a bunch of people that came together to put on shows, made friendships and now we’re at each other’s weddings’. Congratulations to all those members of our big, weird, beautiful extended SMP family who have had so much success and happiness off stage this year.

One final note before I sign off. There are so many people to thank this year for helping keep as afloat through these turbulent times. I hope we as a group have made our gratitude clear throughout the year. I am not one to single people out, but it wouldn’t be fitting to leave this decade and move into our next without mentioning our Star Of The Decade (initially self-proclaimed but somehow it has stuck), Mr Warren McWilliams. We keep trying to thank him but he won’t let us so all I will say is this: there are not enough words in the world. Thank you.

And so here we are. The beginning of 2020, and many exciting things to come, not least our summer show Legally Blonde in June 2020 at the Millfield Theatre. Star Of The Decade is now officially back up for grabs so if you fancy this almighty accolade and would like to get involved, on stage or off, please get in touch below at….

Proceedings start at 11am with various activities in the Market Square. In the Market place there will be a variety of community stalls and live entertainment on the band stand.

The parade starts at 4pm and you can find out rough timings on the route map below.

It finishes on the high street where the Mayor will turn on the Christmas tree lights and everyone will sing a few carols.

The festivities are rounded off with a terrific firework display at approximately 5.30pm.

The facebook page for the event is here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/790010151434298/

During the parade we’ll also be collecting for charity so please bring along some change to chuck in our buckets! Thanks. The bucket collection this year will be shared between, BEVAD, Enfield Women’s Centre, Mayor’s Charitable fund and North London Hospice.

We hope to see you there! We’re very lucky that once again our float has been designed by the very talented Matt McManus and a big thank you to our sponsors Hammonds Opticians.

We’ve been busy behind the scenes at SMP HQ and we’re pleased to say that we can announce our summer musicals for 2020 and 2021. We’ll also make our return to the Millfield Theatre after performing Much Ado About Nothing in Bury Lodge Park. We are currently looking for members of our production teams so if you are interested in Directing, Musically Directing or Choreographing please let us know at SMPTheatre@hotmail.com

OMIGOD You Guys! Our Show for June 2020 will be:

Harvard’s beloved blonde takes the stage by pink storm in this fun, upbeat story of self-discovery.

A fabulously fun international award-winning musical based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical, follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery, and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. This action-packed musical explodes on the stage with memorable songs and dynamic dances. Equal parts hilarious and heart-warming warming, this musical is so much fun it should be illegal!

Legally Blonde The Musical will take you from the sorority house to the halls of justice with Broadway’s brightest new heroine (and of course, her chihuahua, Bruiser).Based on the adored movie, Legally Blonde The Musical stays true to form with a peppy score and playful book. This musical is ridiculously enjoyable from start to finish.

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside-down, however, when her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting serious about his life and attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back, Elle uses her charm to get into Harvard Law. At school, she struggles with peers, professors, and Warner Huntington. With the help of Paulette and Emmett, though, Elle quickly realizes her potential and sets out to prove herself to the world.

And we’re pleased to say that in June 2021 we will return once again to the Millfield Theatre with:

Everyone’s favourite ogre is back in the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning, smash hit film. Shrek The Musical is a Tony Award-winning fairy tale adventure, featuring all new songs from Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie; Caroline, or Change) and a sidesplitting book by David Lindsay-Abaire. Shrek brings all the beloved characters you know from the film to life on stage and proves there’s more to the story than meets the ears.

“Once upon a time, there was a little ogre named Shrek….” And thus begins the tale of an unlikely hero who finds himself on a life-changing journey alongside a wisecracking Donkey and a feisty princess who resists her rescue. Throw in a short-tempered bad guy, a cookie with an attitude and over a dozen other fairy tale misfits, and you’ve got the kind of mess that calls for a real hero. Luckily, there’s one on hand… and his name is Shrek.

Shrek presents a treasure trove of creative opportunities, including costumes, sets, puppets (there is a fire-breathing dragon after all) and more! Irreverently fun for the whole family, Shrek proves that beauty is truly in the eye of the ogre.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated with all the latest information as we have it.

Happy New Year from everyone at SMP. We’ve got an interesting year lined up.

In January we’ll be at the Intimate with Snow White with what could be the last ever show to be staged the the historic venue. Tickets are selling well, we have limited availabilty on our last performance so please if you want to join us for what could be an emotional performance book now to avoid missing out.

In June we’ll stage a first for the grooup with our promanade performance of Much Ado About Nothing. Tickets will be avaiable soon. Due to the nature of the show, tickets for each performance will be limited to 100 people so please book ahead to ensure you get to see what promises to be a new and exciting way for us to perform.

Finally we are almost ready to confirm our next pantomime. Details will be posted on our website and on facebook very soon, so watch this space!

We thank you all for your support in 2018 and hope it continues into 2019!

We were lucky enough to be asked by our Mayor Saray Karakus to represent Enfield once again and the Mayor joined us on the parade route giving us an extra special touch of class! Thanks to Paul Everitt once again for nominating us.

Huge thanks to everyone involved in making the float look great but especially Matt McManus, Ian Smith, Luke Clow, Fay Kemal and Warren McWilliams for all their efforts and once again to Phil Stannard for the tech kit onboard the float.

Though we didn’t emmulate last years success in the competition we had a great time once again!

Here’s some clips and pics of the day.

What’s a promenade performance? We hear you ask. Well, we’ll tell you;

We plan to produce an immersive, intimate and personal performance. As our audience arrive they become part of the ensemble and as the story flows they move through the park as one of Leonato’s, our play’s hosts, guests.

Our production will be unique to each audience member as they choose how they view the performance. The show will be free flowing, natural and organic with little or no barrier between cast and audience instead of a traditional audience and cast divide.

There will be no fourth wall, the audience will be guided toward the action, some of which will take part amongst them some which is more classically staged but the audience are free to move and view the performance however they choose. The abridged version of the play will contain music and dancing and promises to be a unique experience.

Intrigued? We hope so!

The show is being produced by Warren McWilliams and will be directed by David Bowman. We’ll confirm more of the production team shortly.

Our introuduction night and auditions will take place in early February 2019 (details tbc) and the show will be staged in the beautiful surroundings of Bury Lodge Park from the 5th-8th June 2019.

Due to the nature of the performance audience numbers will be limited per show so you’re advised to book early once we announce that our box office opens.

Our introduction night for the show will take place on the 4th of Feb – You can find the FACEBOOK EVENT here.

One of the few landmark buildings in Palmers Green is in danger of being knocked down and lost for ever. The Intimate Theatre in Green Lanes (just past the junction of Green Lanes, Bourne Hill and Hedge Lane) has a rich theatrical history and many stars of stage and screen have appeared at the venue over the years. The rock star David Bowie even made an early career appearance there in 1968 when he featured in Lindsay Kemp’s company.

It was built in 1931 as a church hall for St. Monica’s Roman Catholic Church but in 1935 it became the Intimate Theatre thanks to a talented 25 year old actor called John Clements who leased the building from the church authorities. Clements was already a well known stage and screen actor but he had a vision of running his own theatre as an old time actor/manager and thought the hall in Green Lanes was ideal for the task.

The theatre opened its doors for the first time on Boxing Night 1935 with a production of the A.A. Milne play The Dover Road. Soon weekly rep (staging a different play every week of the year) was a reality in Palmers Green and Clements and his company of actors quickly acquired an excellent reputation throughout London. Clements stayed at the helm of the Intimate until 1941 and had a very illustrious stage and film career. He was knighted in 1968.

December 1946 marked a significant point in the theatre’s history when the Intimate’s production of the play George And Margaret became the very first complete play to be televised live from a theatre by the BBC. The importance of this was emphasised by the local paper, The Palmers Green and Southgate Gazette, who devoted a good part of their front page with the news under the headline:

“WORLD PREMIERE IN HISTORY OF TELEVISION INTIMATE THEATRE FAME”

Over the next three years the television cameras returned to the Intimate on 13 more occasions and this Palmers Green venue became a pioneer in the live transmissions of complete dramas to a television audience and paved the way for other theatres to allow television cameras into their buildings.

Over the years many famous names have played the Intimate. Richard Attenborough, later Lord Attenborough, made his professional stage debut in 1941 at Palmers Green. He was still a student at RADA when he was asked to play the role of a 15 year old boy in Eugene O’Neill’s drama Ah, Wilderness. Attenborough returned later that same year to appear in two further plays: Goodbye Mr Chips and Cottage To Let.

June Whitfield and Nicholas Parsons, still working today in their nineties, made early career appearances at the Intimate in the 1940s as did future James Bond star Roger Moore. The director at the Intimate at that time was Jimmy Grant Anderson and he once said to Roger: “Roger, you’re not a terribly good actor, so when you come on stage just smile a lot!”

The theatre had a very active Playgoers’ Society which held meetings on Sundays with speakers from the world of theatre including Fenella Fielding, Sybil Thorndike and, on one celebrated occasion, actor Jack Hawkins and Hollywood star Tyrone Power.

By the mid-1960s things were getting tough for this little playhouse. Audiences were thin as the taste for weekly and fortnightly rep declined. In 1964 the Intimate was listed as the last remaining professional repertory theatre in the London area. It struggled on for a further 5 years but eventually ceased to be a full time professional theatre in 1969.

However, help was at hand – in the shape of the many local drama and musical societies who were invited to stage their productions at this now empty theatre. Most of these groups staged two or more productions a year and most had their own sizeable audience base so the theatre was suddenly flourishing again with full houses at most performances. Professional entertainment was not forgotten either as the theatre still staged an annual pantomime, with such stars as Tony Blackburn, Shirley Anne Field, Linda Baron, Ruth Madoc, Jimmy Perry, Clive Dunn, John Noakes and Bill Owen; the occasional week of drama, and also programmed an extensive list of professional ‘one-nighter type’ concerts featuring artists as diverse as Frankie Howerd, Frankie Vaughan, Matt Monro, Hinge and Bracket, June Bronhill, Moira Anderson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Tommy Trinder, The Wurzels, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball and Jack Warner.

At the end of 1987, it was announced that the theatre was to close and all the amateur groups were made homeless as St Monica’s Church wished to reclaim its parish hall. This upset not only all the local amateur actors and musicans but the theatre fraternity at large with The Stage newspaper carrying the headline:

“Intimate Fight ‘a nationwide issue’”

But that wasn’t the end of the story for, after a few years, some theatrical activity resumed and several amateur groups returned to stage their productions at the venue. This theatrical activity, albeit very spasmodic, has continued to this day, but now the news is that St Monica’s Catholic Church wishes to demolish the building in order to build a new parish hall and flats. There is a very healthy backlash to this proposal and an online petition has been set up to try and save the theatre. Hopefully this important Palmers Green building can be saved – it certainly deserves to survive.

Geoff Bowden – author of Intimate Memories: The History Of The Intimate Theatre, Palmers Green.

Published by The Badger Press, 2006

Some Pictures from inside the Theatre showing its original features.

Proceedings start at 12pm with various activities in the Market Square. In the Market place there will be a variety of community stalls and live entertainment on the band stand. Also on display in the area will be motors from Whitewebbs Museum of Transport.

The parade starts at 4pm and you can find out rough timings on the route map below.

It finishes on the high street where the Mayor will turn on the Christmas tree lights and everyone will sing a few carols.

The festivities are rounded off with a terrific firework display at approximately 5.30pm.

The facebook page for the event is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/726359657741221/

During the parade we’ll also be collecting for charity so please bring along some change to chuck in our buckets! Thanks. The bucket collection this year will be shared between, BEVAD, Enfield Women’s Centre, Mayor’s Charitable fund and North London Hospice.

We hope to see you there! We’re very lucky that once again our float has been designed by the very talented Matt McManus from Cloud and Horse  so we’re going to look fantastic and we’ll be representing Enfield Borough in the Lord Mayors New Years Day Parade again this year.

We’re giving nothing away but here’s a sneek peak of what we’ll look like!

Big thanks go to our sponsors for the parade float Hammond Opticians, who were runners up for ‘Moment of the Year’ in this years Sightcare Awards 2018.

Sadly this meeting could not be arranged but we felt the ideas were still valid and wanted to share them online in the hope that they will be viewed by the Buildings Audit Committee at some point.

We do not have access to all the surveyors reports for the buildings and our drawings are not to scale. Neither do we have access to St Monica’s parish financial information but based on what we have seen from the two parish meetings we feel this work would be of similar scale, offers good potential for financial returns and offers value for money.

Please note that these are concept ideas similar to those given in the meeting on the 1st of October. As such we are not suggesting each option be taken as a whole and that perhaps the best solution would be to include elements from each. Also we were faced with the problem of not knowing how many meeting rooms or offices were required since it has never been made clear how many of each room were needed it has just been listed as ‘more’.

You can find the presentation below.

Booking tickets

The London Pantomimers present – ‘The Wizard of Oz’

We’re off to see the Wizard for this year’s family show from the London Pantomimers in their 73rd production. Watch our talented actors bring their own style and enthusiasm to the show. Be prepared (like all good scouts) to cheer, boo, laugh and dance; audience participation is definitely encouraged. There is a choice of 11 performances, from 6th to 15th December at The Initmate Theatre, Palmers Green, N13

The curtain first went up on the Haringey and Southgate Districts Scout Pantomime in December 1944, when, in the dark days towards the end of the Second World War, a group of enthusiastic local Scout leaders got together and decided to liven things up and raise funds at the same time. Since then, the annual Scout Pantomime has played to audiences of many thousands who are guaranteed a genuine traditional family pantomime.  Our entirely voluntary team – from box office, directors, back stage crew and talented cast hope you enjoy the show and thank you for your support. 

All profits from this special pantomime go to helping young people in North London through The Scout Association.

Book Tickets for the Wizard of Oz here – http://www.londonpantomimers.org.uk/

Acorn Theatre Company present ‘Robin Hood’

Will Robin and his Merry Men (cheer!) conquer over the Sheriff of Nottingham (boo!)? Will Maid Marion find true love (ahh!)? Will Friar Tuck improve his cooking skills (yuk!)? Find out the answers and join in the fun and adventure at the Intimate Theatre this January!

Acorn Theatre Company return to the Intimate Theatre for another fun-filled family pantomime. Following our successful productions of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and ‘Our House’ in 2018 we are looking forward to the start of 2019 with our performance of the classic tale of ‘Robin Hood’.

Proceeds from Acorn productions are donated to local charities and since 1989 we have donated over £75,000 to good causes. With your support, we hope to be able to make a significant donation to this year’s nominated charity.

Robin Hood – http://www.acorntheatre.com/

SMP Present – ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – A Family Pantomime’

After the success of their recent pantomimes, Frosted and The Little Mermaid, SMP return to the Intimate Theatre with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – A Family Pantomime.

When her Magic Mirror tells Snow White’s Stepmother, that she is no longer fairest in the land, the vain, wicked Queen vows to put an end to her Stepdaughter. Aided by her friends, Snow White escapes and hides with the Dwarf family deep in the forest. But she is soon found and struck down by a poisoned apple. Will Snow White survive? Can true love save her? Will the Queen be fairest in the land once again? The only way to find out is to watch the show.

Featuring all the traditional elements of pantomime this new show written by Warren McWilliams promises to warm the hearts of children of all ages and adults alike. Featuring a range of hit songs, spectacular dancing and great gags, Snow White is a fantastic family pantomime that will not disappoint.

Book tickets for Snow White here –  https://www.wordpress.smptheatre.co.uk/buy-tickets-online/

A petition to save the Intimate Theatre has been set up, if you wish to sign it, you can find it here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-intimate-theatre-palmers-green

The great theatres of England are slowly being eradicated piecemeal. The first time I witnessed it was when the magnificent Finsbury Park Empire, designed by that legendary architect Frank Matcham was destroyed to make way for a supermarket. Finsbury Park is now a dead zone. Each time a theatre is pulled down, it is like a part of that particular borough is amputated. They tried to destroy the Hackney Empire, also a magnificent theatre, but the theatrical community resisted so fiercely that the order to destroy it was redacted. Now that theatre is functioning and breathes fresh new life into Hackney.

To lose The Intimate, Palmers Green where I have also played as a young man, would be more than just a shame. In the past twenty or more years, we have lost hundreds of libraries, score upon score of theatres, endless lido swimming pools and the reason always given is to build yet more soul-destroying rabbit hutches.

Steven Berkoff – Actor, author, playwright and theatre director

It would be so sad to see The Intimate theatre disappear as many artistes learned their trade there, perfecting their craft, not only in acting but also how ‘to walk a stage’… as they say. So many well-known stars have worked this lovely little theatre, which has a great history of presenting all kinds of entertainment over the years and, as a performer, if you lived in London it gave you the opportunity of working a theatre, and being able to get home at night after the show.

I had my early theatrical training there, working for a producer named Ronnie Kerr, and although it was hard work having to learn your lines in the afternoon then performing at night, The Intimate was exactly that….Intimate. It gave you a warm and cosy feeling. A wonderful place to be.

Although people like to watch television these days, this little theatre in Palmers Green was the place to go and meet friends, see a great production and, as they also say, there’s nothing like a live show. Why take that away from us?

 Nicholas Parsons. TV Presenter and Actor 

“It would be a catastrophe to turn The Intimate Theatre into anything other than an entertainment venue. As a comedian myself  in my early days I played several pantomimes there as well as numerous ‘one-nighters’, and it was also a great venue to hold charity concerts for the Comedian’s Golfing Society with many star names appearing on-stage in our shows.

During my slow changeover from a comedy performer to a Theatrical Producer, I also used the coin-box telephone in the dressing room during my breaks in panto scenes so I could book many a star-studded tour for artistes such as Matt Monro, Larry Grayson, Danny La Rue, Max Bygraves and Norman Wisdom. I could hear my fellow artistes calling me saying such things as …”Johnny, get off the ‘phone! I don’t care who you’re booking….you’re on in two minutes in the Beanstalk scene!”….They were great days and The Intimate made me as successful as I am today. It will always be a part of my life, a part of show-business history, and something that should be listed as a theatre forever more.”

Johnny Mans.   Producer – Johnny Mans Productions.

“I am writing to express my support for the campaign to save the Intimate Theatre, Palmers Green, from possible demolition. From the correspondence I have received, and the posts that I have seen on social media, I know that the future of the Intimate Theatre means a great deal to the Saint Monica’s Players (SMP) theatre group, as well as many other local groups and members of the Palmers Green community.

The Intimate Theatre’s rich history, dating back over 80 years, makes the site not only a valued part of Enfield’s cultural heritage but also the history of British theatre. I support your aim for the theatre to be refurbished to suit the needs of the parish of St Monica’s Church, Palmers Green, and to be run as an affordable community theatre space – thereby preventing the loss of one of London’s last remaining local theatres.”

Rt. Hon Joan Ryan MP – Labour Member of Parliament for Enfield North

‘I first stepped foot in a theatre like the Intimate when I was eight or nine. The experience set me on the path of being a film and television director with an Oscar nomination. Destroying an important resource like this is a tragedy for the children and young people in our community who won’t be given the chance to find out if the creative arts is for them’ 

Councillor Ian Barnes – Winchmore Hill ward (Labour) – TV and Film Director 

“The Intimate Theatre was where I, and so many generations before me, first experienced theatre – on stage, back stage and as an audience member. In my teenage years it was a place to perform, socialise with people my own age in my community and to have a real sense of belonging to that community. Without theatre’s in our community we are depriving future generations the opportunities to create, learn, entertain and be entertained. 10 years of selfish austerity has squeezed the already pinched middle and working class and robbed a whole generation of personality building outlets. These theatres focus on the local communities and should be more affordable and accessible than larger, city centre theatres. The Intimate Theatre is in desperate need of governmental or Arts Council investment and community support. At the very least, it should be replaced with a similar space for generations of future West End performers to have an opportunity to dream of what they could become and for thousands of young people to have a space to express themselves, be safe and enrich their lives in areas of personal development. Losing a community space in favour of more unaffordable housing is a damning indictment of how broken and implosive our society has become. We don’t need less theatres like The Intimate: we need MORE.”

David O’Mahony – Actor

The Read Through and Auditions process for our next show, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, will start next week at Cannon House, Saint Monica’s Parish Centre.

The Read Through will take place on Monday 3rd September 2018 at 8pm with auditions being held in the evening on Monday 10th and Wednesday 12th from 7.30pm onwards.

The Read Through will be the first chance to see what the script is like, find out what’s needed for auditions and hear what plans the production team have for the show. The show will be directed by Christopher O’Shea who returns to direct his second show for us, Kate Sanders and Mike Benyon will take on the job of jointly Musically Directing the show and choreography will come from Wendy Cooper with assistance from Hayley McAra.

We’re chuffed to bits to have such an exciting team on board for the show and to continue to give our members a chance to take on roles in the production team.

The show will once again be written by Warren McWilliams and will run at the Intimate Theatre from 17^th-20^th January 2019. Once again we will perform an 11am matinee specifically tailored for a younger audience.

Tickets will be on sale soon and we’ll keep you up to date with everything on our website.

You can sign up to our facebook event for the read through here. https://www.facebook.com/events/180890262587322/

You can read back our show blogs using the Show Blog tab here.

See all our old Show Pictures here. and videos here

If you have any old pictures or videos we can share from past productions please send them to us at SMPTheatre@hotmail.com

SMP are 60

60 years ago a small North London group called Saint Monica’s Players (SMP) was formed. Little did the founders know that they would be starting something quite special, for most people this is a hobby but I think we are all in agreement that SMP has been a happy, special and important place for us at one point in our lives. With over 45 Musicals, 160 plays, numerous Pantomimes, Halloween Parties, Summer Camps, Christmas Meals, BBQ’s, Weddings, Christenings, Birthday’s, Stag do’s Hen do’s, Disney Trips, Potters weekends, golf days and many more. Memories hav been created,lifelong friends made and families joined and that to me is something to celebrate

We will be celebrating 60 years of fantastic Musicals, Pantomimes and Plays with an anniversary party Southgate Masonic Hall on the 14th July 2018 6pm-midnight and tickets for the 60th Anniversary Party are on sale now.

We have a fantastic evening planned for you with lots of catching up, a delicious buffet and time to reminisce on the past 60 years!

Tickets are available to buy:

– IN PERSON by cash or cheque (made out to Saint Monica’s Players) from Claire Suzanne or Debbie Wall.

– ONLINE by sending a bank transfer to our account. Your tickets can be mailed to you.

We look forward to welcoming you.

If you wish to attend please email SMPTheatre@hotmail.com

Tickets priced £30 include

Pimms on Arrival

Buffet –

*A Selection of Cured Hams & Slow Roasted Vegetables
*Red Onion & Goat Cheese Tart

* Yorkshire Pudding with Rosettes of Beef & Fresh Horseradish
* Fish & Triple Fried Chips Rosemary Salt
* Barbecue Chicken Wings

*Hazelnut Chocolate Tart
*Warm Apple Pie with Crème Fraîche

Fine entertainment and dancing.

Over 18’s only.

Please see our Facebook page for more information. https://www.facebook.com/events/141877363060161/permalink/225451118036118/ 

Please extend this invite to anyone you think might be interested in celebrating with us. All are welcome.

We’re pleased to announce that we have confirmed our production team for our next show, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs.

The team sees new faces given a chance to shine and old faces return to provide experience along the way.

The show will be directed by Christopher O’Shea who returns to direct his second show for us after doing a fantastic job on Sleeping Beauty.

Kate Sanders and Mike Benyon will take on the job of jointly Musically Directing the show. This will be Kates first show MD-ing for us and Mike will once again be writing us another fantastic original song for the show.

Finally the show will be choreographed by another member making the switch from the stage to production team as Wendy Cooper takes on the job with assistance from returning member Hayley McAra to ensure the show is filled with some cracking dance numbers.

We’re chuffed to bits to have such an exciting team on board for the show and to continue to give our members a chance to take on roles in the production team.

The show will once again be written by Warren McWilliams and will run at the Intimate Theatre from 17^th-20^th January 2019. Once again we will perform an 11am matinee specifically tailored for a younger audience.

Tickets will be on sale soon and we’ll keep you up to date with everything on our website.

This Year we’ll be entering two plays written by our very own award winning playwright Paul Levy. The plays, titled ‘An Order of Lunacy’ and ‘House Proud’ will both be getting their debuts at the festival.

We’ve held auditions and both plays have been cast and we’re pleased to announce they are:

An Order of Lunacy will be directed by Rebecca Gediking and David Bowman will direct House Proud, Paul will still have an involvement with both plays as usual as our author.

Find out schedules and all the details about the festival by clicking the image below.

The Show will be Directed by Paula Bland, Musically Directed by Stuart Piddington-Wall and Choreographed by Fay Kemal.

Our show blog will be back next week keeping you up to date each week with all the goings on during rehearsals and the show itself.

Lovingly ripped off from the hugely successful 1975 film, ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’, Spamalot follows King Arthur, his squire Patsy and the Knights of the Round Table as they embark on their epic search for the Holy Grail. Featuring killer rabbits, flatulent Frenchmen and the knights who say… Ni!, this musical will have you looking on the bright side of life!

** BOOK TICKETS BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW **