Congratulations to the Teddington Theatre Club on completing their first year at the new Hampton Hill Playhouse in the High Street. They have recently published their impressive First Operating Report and it makes very impressive reading. Apart from an ambitious artistic programme which has included Alan Ayckbourn's How the Other Half Loves, Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night, and Noel Coward's Relative Values, the Playhouse itself has become a remarkable local centre of cultural and other activities.

The average attendance at the theatre is now 80% of a full house, and the premises have also been successfully hired so that there have been few days in the past year when something hasn't been going on at The Playhouse. Teddington Theatre Club and its affiliated groups - the Youth Action Theatre and the Children's Theatre - have benefited from the superb up to date facilities which are on a par with those of provincial theatres. At least five other local amateur drama groups have also staged productions, as well as several dance companies, an orchestra, a choral society and professional performers such as Prunella Scales, Timothy West and Virginia McKenna. The building itself has been hired for art exhibitions, family celebrations, meetings, conferences and sales promotions. We are indeed fortunate to have such a facility in our midst, which all in our community can use and enjoy.

Source: The Spire Magazine - 2000 September