Welcome to

The Wessex Actors Company's

homepage

The Company served five counties of the South-West for 13 years on negligible finance, taking some 25 own productions and 5 presented one-person shows to 179 venues, mostly on multiple visits. A unique focus on talent and writing from the South-West generated the company’s policy over that period. This archive provides a brief record of the company’s achievements as time allows.

1993-2006

You have the following options:

v The Company's Lottery-funded assets are for sale: see listing and prices

v View a screen version of "Running Time: 13 Years" – a publication celebrating 13 years of operation and detailing essential facts and figures about the Company’s operation.

v Find out about The Wessex Actors Company's history and aims

v Our focus has always been on the creative talent of the South-West - so who are the writers whose work we have produced?

v Search the list of venues played by the Company

v Discover the sources of funding, who helped the Company (beyond earnings from activities)

Information on some past productions:

v The Wessex Actors Company has twice produced Hardy's own dramatization of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" (1993 and 2001) - the only company to have done so since Hardy’s own production (last played 1929). Our acting/ production edition is now published and represented by New Theatre Publications.

v "Love Letters", one of our best ever productions, was a retelling of Thomas Hardy's moving domestic drama "On the Western Circuit". This has now been published and is represented by New Theatre Publications - click here.

v Another Hardy adaptation published and available for production is “Passion and the Revolutionary”, a tragic mature love story in one-act form for a cast of 3 and based on a short story.

v Responses to our production of Michael Barry’s “Dead Woman’s Ditch” – based on thetrue story of John Walford, hanged for the murder of his wife in 1789. Now published and represented by New Theatre Publications as "Burning Passions" - click here

v Responses to our riotous and highly-regarded production of “Tom Jones”. This is also available for further production from New Theatre Publications.

v Info on: "Do Reindeer Dream of Santa Claus?"

v Find out about our last own production: "The Mayor of Casterbridge"

v Other productions are identified in "RunningTime: 13 Years"

v The Community Chest was the Company's unique programme of small-scale, low-cost productions for small venues:

Ø The portfolio of productions

Ø The Community Chest Press release

If you wish to comment, or find out more, please contact us.

Talk to us by e-mail: - or by phone: (+44)(0)1278 733100.

Or write:The Counting House, Dodington, Bridgwater, Somserset TA5 1LE

Bring down the curtain and go home.