In its 29 year history the South Norfolk, Diss based Mere Players have performed all types of productions ranging from costume dramas, hilarious farces, plays, musical revues, pantomimes and full length musicals. The group have come a long way from their humble beginnings when their first production 'The Chiltern Hundreds' was staged (and I use the word staged very loosely!) on a make shift stage in the ballroom of the old King's Head Hotel in Diss during December 1974.
Their first pantomime was performed in 1977 not long before the King's Head was put up for sale, leaving the group with no home.
For a few years the group performed on the floor of the town's youth centre - allowing a maximum audience of 60! In 1984 they moved (again) to the old Diss Grammar School where there was a permanent stage and chance for an audience capacity of 120.
In May of 1984 Mere Players hosted the 10th Breckland Drama Festival where they won best technical/best drama/best comedy/best actor and best supporting actor awards! By 1987 the Grammar School was declared redundant and once again Mere Players were without a performance venue. The only alternative in the town was the Corn Hall - which only had a flat floor and a very small band sized stage. The old staged used by in the King's Head days was resurrected and in January 1988 the group performed the pantomime 'Alice In Wonderland' - their worries that they would not be able to cover the hire cost of the Corn Hall soon disappeared when the panto played to 4 full houses of 240 seats.
A new purpose built stage was then designed and built by members and the group have made the Corn Hall their permanent home for their larger productions. The stage there can now 'grow' so that the width of it can actually be wider than the Norwich Theatre Royals. For smaller plays and a where a more intimate space is needed the Mere Players often perform at Roydon Village Hall on the outskirts of Diss where an audience of 120 can be seated. The group are able to use the Roydon's own stage.
The group have taken part in many drama festivals and at the 10th Breckland Festival that they hosted way back in 1984 they presented the festival with a trophy to be presented by the adjudicator to entries for the best technical merit. This is an area where the Mere Players have always been strong and it continues to this day with their current offering - CHESS - The Musical which takes to the Diss Corn Hall stage from 16 - 20 September 2003 at 7:30pm (matinee 20 Sept at 2:30pm). This production will push the technical boundaries even further as the show will feature many computer generated scenes and film footage including specially filmed pieces. Duxford Aviation Museum have helped with the airport scenes and Stewart White, BBC Look East anchor man has also filmed special news reports to be shown during the show.
CHESS also marks the 10th anniversary for the group's MD. Michael Dann joined the group back in 1993 when he was MD for a musical revue show called 'Back In The Mood'. Since then Michael has helped the group move forward with their musical abilities and has been MD through Peter Pan (The Great British Musical), Guys & Dolls, Me & My Girl, Oliver and now CHESS. Michael was musical director for NODA's Eastern Region best musical award winners in 2000 with another South Norfolk group.
Mere Players now have a very successful youth group -Young Mere Players - who perform most of their productions during the long school summer holidays. Most shows are the end result of a 2 week summer school - past productions have included, The Vackees, Little Shop Of Horrors and Tin Pan Alley.
Mere Players have a good social network and dinners/events are often held. The group are always keen to welcome newcomers, both on and off stage and if you're interested in joining or knowing more contact Kevin Ball on 01379 640084 or email.
If you would like to book tickets for CHESS please call 01379 640084 or email.
