There has been an interest in drama and theatre in West Hallam for at least the past 100 years.
In 1919, the coach house of West Hallam Hall, on St Wilfrid’s Road, was converted into The Little Theatre, complete with tip-up plush seats - if only we had that facility today! At that time West Hallam had its own Pierrot troupe, with plays, pantomimes and even operettas being performed.
In the early 1970's, the group took the form of a night school at Scargill School, performing mainly one-act plays. By the latter half of the decade this had developed into the West Hallam Drama Group, with full-length plays being performed each spring and autumn, and one act plays being presented at coffee evenings each summer.
In the mid 1980’s, increasing pupil numbers at Scargill School and the consequent search for more space, led to the removal of the permanent stage from the School Hall. As a result, the Group had to use different venues for rehearsals including members' houses, the Shand Centre at Stanley Common (now the Bartram Centre), West Hallam Methodist Church, the Punch Bowl Inn and latterly, The White Post in Stanley Common, courtesy of Lyn Green.
We also found a new home for productions thanks to the generosity of Stanley Village Hall Committee. This, however, necessitated us building our own stage and transporting it from our storage facility at Pinnacle Storage. Along with the set, including many items of furniture, the farm trailer still makes an amusing sight twice a year as it makes its way to Stanley, ready for the latest production.
For many years the group performed street theatre, in the form of Mummer’s plays, during the West Hallam Well Dressing Festival held each July
An offshoot of the Drama Group was the West Hallam Pantomine Group, which performed an annual pantomime at West Hallam Community Centre for a total of fifteen years. The cast and production team drew in many people from the wider community especially many young people aged eight years upwards.
There were times when, with two plays, a Pantomime and a mummer's play, plus the occasional float in local Carnivals, involvement with the Drama Group was a full time occupation!
The group now meets each Thursday at the White Post Inn in Stanley Common from 8:00pm, in the upstairs function room and continues to produce two plays each year.