THE HOSPITAL PLAYERS 

Scunthorpe's Oldest Amateur Dramatics Group - Established 1943

THE HOSPITAL PLAYERS:
A POTTED HISTORY

A new theatre

By the 1950s, plays were usually put on at the Technical School in Cole Street (where TJ Hughes now stands). We also performed several plays at the local Youth Centre and Frodingham Parish Hall.

In 1954, Scunthorpe Council formed a Drama Federation to work towards building a theatre. The Federation was formed under Bill Plowright, editor of the Scunthorpe Star and father of Joan Plowright, and consisted of members of local amateur dramatics groups (including Joan Brown from The Hospital Players) and other interested people. 

In May 1958 the Civic Theatre opened. The Hospital Players’ first production at the new theatre was ‘The Reluctant Debutante,’ and we played to full houses for three consecutive nights.

In these early days many of our shows were taken round to local village halls, which allowed us to play to different audiences with minimal props and lighting. As recently as 2011 we performed ‘Ladies’ Day’ at Kirton Lindsey Town Hall.

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Origins

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1960s-1980s