18th February 2003 - Roy Underdown Pavilion

Those who have seen their productions will agree that Hamble Players deserve their high reputation. At our meeting in February, Alan Fisk told us of his experiences with the group, and we learned how wide that reputation is. He joined them in 1965, when rehearsals were held in the Victory Inn and the Old Rectory. They sometimes teamed up with TS Mercury to produce plays, and the set had to be dismantled on one site and re-erected at another. This took some time, and Alan remembers being up until 2 or 3 am on occasions. He told us of an event during the miners' strike, in the 1970's. They had been warned that there could be a power cut, but decided to carry on with the play. In those days, there was a door to the outside at either end of the stage, and they parked two cars with their headlights pointing at the doors. Halfway through the first act, the hall was plunged into darkness. The doors were opened, engines started and headlights switched on, so at least they could see on stage. Unfortunately, most of the sound effects were on tape, so the crew had to improvise with whatever came to hand. "There were dogs barking, and all sorts," said Alan.

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