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At present the group is full—15 members. There is a waiting list, contact Sally using the pencil icon above to be added.

The Play Reading 1 group has been meeting –and reading plays – since our U3A began.

Over the years we have read – and enjoyed ! – such a wide variety of plays; from Alan Ayckbourne’s comedies of manners, discovering their darker undersides; to Oscar Wilde and his famous “handbag” in “The Importance of Being Earnest”; from the Jewish suburb of Queens in New York – Ivan Menchells’ “The Cemetery Club” to a small town somewhere in the depths of Russia – Nikolai Gogol’s “The Government Inspector”. We have laughed out loud at comedies such as Bill Naughton’s “Spring and Port Wine” ; but empathised with the characters in tragedies such as Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”.

We understand more how plays “work”: the importance of such things as a letter, a phone call ,the sudden knock on the door; devices which twist and propel the plot towards its conclusion. We have seen how playwrights influence each other . We have a chance to be someone else whether a scheming murderer as in Patricia Highsmith’s “Strangers on a Train” or a once wealthy Russian landowner as in Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”.

We read reviews from the press when “our” play is being performed . We remember productions we have seen ,or television versions or films. We bring our own personal experiences to the discussions.

How do we choose who reads which part? - we simply choose the names from a pile of name cards; everyone having a turn during the session.

Our thanks go to the library service at Ormesby and Saltburn for supplying us with sets of plays.

A SELECTION OF SOME OF THE PLAYS THAT WE HAVE READ AND ENJOYED TOGETHER.

• Lady Windermere's Fan - Oscar Wild
• Calendar Girls - Tim Firth
• Journey's End - R. C. Sheriff
• Philadelphia Here We Come - Brian Friel
• The Wild Duck - H. Ibsen
• Wait Until Dark - Frederick Knott
• Spring And Port Wine - Bill Naughton
• The Voysey Inheritance - Harley Granville Barker
• The Cherry Orchard - Anton Chekhov
• Flare Path - Terence Rattigan
• The Reluctant Debutante - William Douglas Home
• Just Between Ourselves - Alan Ayckbourn
• Time Of My Life - Alan Ayckbourn
• Building Blocks - Bob Larbey
• The Rivals - Sheridan
• A Flea In Here Ear - Feydeau
• A Murder Has Been Arranged - Emlyn Williams
• Dangerouse Corner - J.B. Priestley
• An Inspector Calls - J.B. Priestley
• Glass Town - Noel Robinson
• The Winslow Boy - Terence Rattigan