Welcome
Incorporating drama, comedy, farce, musicals and plays for children Wesley House Players Dubbo is committed to producing both classic and contemporary theatre.
Stand out productions over the years have been period pieces such as “Pygmalion” and “Frost on the Rose”, contemporary pieces “It’s My Party (And I’ll Die If I Want To)” and "The Dumb Waiter" to the classic musicals of “Show Boat”, “Fiddler on the Roof” and “The Mikado” to the contemporary “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Nunsense”. Children have also been a large part of our history with performances bringing talent from the younger generation and the experience of the older geneartion together to produce shows such as "Flying Saucery”, The Three Secrets” and “How I Became A Pirate” .
While only a small Amateur Theatre Company we are proud of our history and so welcome you to our website. We hope that the information you require is available on the site, but if not please access our "contact us" page and your enquiry will be promptly dealt with.
Our History
Towards the end of 1968 with the building of the Methodist Churches “Wesley House Community Hall” nearing completion, it was decided to perform a musical for the opening of the amenities. The Methodist Church had a long history of performing revues and concerts and this carried on the history. On Saturday 15th March 1969 “South Pacific” was performed to a packed house….. and so Wesley House Players, or Wesley Players, as we are commonly known, came into being.
Original members of Wesley House Players and the people who would go on to become the backbone of many future Wesley House Players productions included Tom, Mop and Betty Stroud, Wilf Brook, Mervyn and Freda Gibb, Stewart Johnston, Helen Humphries, Howard Lees, Maisie Coomber and Eddie Whyfoon to name but a few. In fact Wesley House Players now see in their ranks the grandchildren of the original members which is a credit to the original “family” affair and “good clean fun” that has become synonymous with the Wesley name.
On the 13th January 1996 Wesley House was practically burnt to the ground by an intruder, with many valuable sets, costumes and all backdrops destroyed. “The Pajama Game” (staged at The Dubbo Civic Centre due to the fire) was to be the first of only two shows not done in the venue of Wesley House in its 40 year history. It was over 12 months before Wesley Players would have a home to return to. The Uniting Church at that time graciously asked a number of Wesley Players members to contribute to ideas about the rebuilding of the hall and it was with much appreciation that a number of features were modernised allowing for more offstage room, additional dressing rooms and a lighting/sound booth. In Feb. 1998 the first in house production of “Fire Up The Band” was performed in the newly rebuilt, revitalised hall. To this day (2015) Wesley House Players continue to be supported by the Uniting Church in Dubbo and it is wiith our deepest appreciation that we are able to still call Wesley Community Hall our home.
Theatre in Dubbo is going from strength to strength and we hope you are inspired to become a member of your (if not our) local amateur theatre company. Whether you wish to tread the boards, direct, help with backstage, set construction, costumes or front of house, new members are most welcome. If “theatre life” is not for you, just remember, if you are on-stage, its nice to see an audience.
We hope you have enjoyed this very brief history of Wesley House Players and hope to see you at our next performance.
