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Chairman Douglas Pope first got involved over 40 years ago, and told us more about the history of the company, how he was first enticed to perform there, what he has done since and his hopes for the theatre鈥檚 future!

Sharnbrook Mill

How did the Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust first come about 30 years ago?

We were in existence long before that! The Theatre Trust was originally Sharnbrook Players, which formed in 1943 and then became a Charitable Trust in 1965. We obtained the Mill in 1972 and after extensive renovations and alterations performed our first production in 1979 (Salad Days) hence the 30th Anniversary celebrations.

What is the aim of the group?

The following objective was drawn up in 1965 when we became a Trust:

"To promote and further education in and knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts of opera, ballet, mime, drama, music and singing and ancillary arts."

This objective has been embraced by a succession of our members and we have formed a strong connection with local schools, encouraging them to use our facilities as we strongly believe that supporting young people in this way gives them the opportunity to express themselves and develop their potential in many ways.

How many members do you have, what is the age range and are they generally from the local area?

We have 150 members plus many more "Friends of the Mill". Ages range from 9-years-old and upward and as a generalisation I would say we attract members from a radius of around 15 miles, although our geographical position is such that we have members from Beds, Herts, Bucks, Cambs and Northants.

How did you get involved and why?

I became involved in 1968 when I was approached by an old friend who had directed me in plays previously and asked if I would be prepared to take part (at very short notice) in a play that was to be performed in the then Sharnbrook Church Hall. After two rehearsals (!!) we were on! My wife Virginia also became involved and we were made so welcome and met such a fantastic group of people that we were hooked.听听听听听听听听听听听

What do you do at the Trust now and what areas have you been involved in?

I am Chairman of the board of Governors and I still tread the boards. I have been involved, as have many other members, in various facets of our organisation, from set building and painting, operating follow spots, stage crew, singing and acting but NOT dancing. Of course, being the Chairman I am heavily involved now in the administration side as well.

What was the first production you worked on and what do you most remember about it?

As I said previously, I took part in a play at very short notice and to be honest it all passed in a bit of a blur .My first appearance in a musical was Desert Song, but the next year I was cast as Curly in Oklahoma and I will never forget standing on stage during the overture thinking "there are over a thousand people out there and they have come to hear me sing" 鈥�. me - who had never sung solo in public in my life before!

Sharnbrook Mill in 1892

Of all the productions you have been involved with, what was your favourite?

I have two favourites which I simply cannot separate. Man of La Mancha, in which I played Don Quixote, the most demanding role I have ever undertaken both physically and emotionally and Fiddler on the Roof, when I played Tevye .Both were very demanding roles but also incredibly rewarding.

Have there been any mishaps that you particularly remember?

One concerns nothing to do with the stage. We were in the process of completing our disabled access building works when my vice president was about to pay some attention to the road surface on our bridge which links us to our island car park. He discovered that the road surface was in fact only inches thick and he could see the river through it. The resultant survey showed the bridge (the only access to our theatre by car) had to be rebuilt and with only a few weeks before our next production, what could we do?

The show had to go on, and with our neighbours at the Mill Yard and the farmer adjacent to us, who allowed us to park on their land we were able to accommodate our patrons.听听听听听听听听听听

The once, I was appearing in Pyjama Game and during the course of one scene I was required to have a minor accident in the office 鈥�. I tripped, fell back on the desk which collapsed, setting off a domino effect with the rest of the furniture and within a few seconds the office was completely wrecked. The audience loved it and thought it was all part of the act but the other members of the cast were not so complimentary as they had to soldier on when I departed the scene.

I remember one of the cast members returning to the dressing room after I had left him on stage surrounded by the debris and the first thing he said was " YOU B.....D " and he was never one to swear!

The Salad Days programme

I also had to retrieve a young starling that had somehow found its way in to the theatre and managed to crash land on the stage in the middle of Sweet Charity and in the same show a glitter ball somehow snapped its cable, crashed on to the stage and just missed a dancer.

I was playing the night club manager so I picked it up and as I was carrying it off I turned and muttered "That鈥檚 the second time dis has happened dis week!"听听听听听听听听听

What is special about the Sharnbrook Mill Theatre Trust?

The people involved are who make the organisation tick. Over the years we have made so many friends within the Trust, have seen whole families involved (including our own), and are now witnessing the grandchildren of the early members taking part. Also the fact that we as an organisation were able to transform an old mill into our very own theatre and provide so much enjoyment and fun for ourselves and our audiences over the years.

As I said earlier regarding my own experiences in Fiddler and Man of La Mancha - the same applies 鈥� it鈥檚 demanding but also incredibly rewarding.

How do you choose the productions that you put on and what are the main considerations?

We have a Production Committee who organise and oversee the choice of productions, normally two musicals and two plays per annum.

This involves selection of directors and balancing the programme to provide variety for our audience. We try to balance the choice to enable us to stage both " bums on seats " shows and other less "main stream" works . Possibly against the general trend we attract extremely large audiences to our plays as we do have a reputation for the quality of our productions.

Because of the size of our stage, we sometimes be have to be innovative in the way we stage productions and to this end we have some very talented set builders and designers in our ranks.

How are you celebrating the 30th anniversary?

We have already performed the play Wyrd Sisters and the musical Secret Garden and then in June we staged Pearls of the Mill, a celebration of excerpts from some of our past performances staged over the last 30 years.

Sharnbrook Mill

On 5 September we are staging a ball, where members and friends can come together and celebrate and on this occasion we can allow others to entertain us!!

However we still have two more shows to stage "Entertaining Mr Sloane" in September and "Mack and Mabel" in November.

Going forward, what are the main plans for the future for the Trust, to ensure its survival for at least another 30 years?

One of our main plans is to install a new heating and ventilation system in our auditorium which will cost us in excess of 拢50,000 so, as you can imagine, we will be heavily involved in fundraising.

You can imagine with a very old building the work never stops so to guarantee our survival we have to maintain the Trust on a sound financial footing.

We also, as mentioned earlier, will continue to forge links with schools which will encourage future generations to become part of the Sharnbrook Mill Theatre experience.

Finally we must NEVER forget our patrons because without them we do not have an audience so we must strive to maintain a reputation for presenting excellent theatre in a pleasant environment.

As a visitor who had spent many years in the theatre profession once said to me " My dear , by all means be amateur but NEVER AMATEURISH"!