Walmer Dramatic Society

The Walmer Dramatic Society, a section of the Walmer Club, was restarted by Mrs Elaine Tasker, formerly Miss Elaine English, when she came to Port Elizabeth in January 1946 as a speech training and dramatic art teacher for the Collegiate School for Girls. The president of the Walmer Club was Cliffie Payne and the chairman of the Dramatic Section of the club was Oxley Barnard.

Members of the committee of the Dramatic section included Neale Schutte, Mr Knights-Rayson, Mrs H J Betz, Meredith Woods, Mrs Vincent Morris and Harley Stretch.

Contribution to South African Theatre

June 26 - 28, 1947: The Walmer Club (Port Elizabeth) staged JB Priestley's They Came to a City at the Walmer Town Hall. Produced by Elaine Tasker who also starred as "Alice Foster". Other actors included Jimmy Tasker as "Joe Dinmore," Dick Hidden as "Fred Cudworth," Mrs H S Exley as "Mrs Batley," Patricia Boswell as "?," Denniss Ruck as "her hen-pecked husband," and Elizabeth Holliday as "Lady Loxfield," Renee Benjamin as "Phillipa," and F N Ward-Able as "Sir George Gedney". BM Woods and J Heath were responsible for the setting and decor. Yvonne Maytham was the prompt.

18 September 1947: The Walmer Dramatic Society, a section of the Walmer Club, staged Noel Coward's play Hay Fever. Produced by Leonard Symes and starring Laurie Leppan (Lorrie?) as "Mr Bliss", Cynthia Brodie as "Mrs Judith Bliss", Mervyn Brodie as their son and Sheila Thorp as "Miss Bliss", Jack Fisher, George Jones, Maureen Daniell, Betty Leppan and Millicent Burns.

Source

Saturday Post, March 29, 1947.

Saturday Post, August 2, 1947.

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