Abbey Players History

In late 1960 a small group of friends got together to do a one off show to raise money for the University Appeal. The driving force was Frank Tucker aided and abetted by Val Treharne and Adrian Howells. The first meeting and reading of The Boyfriend was at a member's house in Cwmdonkin House, Terrace Road. The first show was performed in January 1961 at The Llewellyn Hall. It was such a success that the group were invited to perform at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera in the Autumn of that year 1961. As some of the original cast , and the Producer, were unable to go to Waterford, the show was recast and David Thomas was appointed as Producer.

The Abbey Players were named after Singleton Abbey where they first rehearsed. and made many visits to the Waterford Fesitval in Ireland, where they won many awards over the years. The society eventually, outgrew their "home" at the Llewellyn Hall in the YMCA and moved to the Grand Theatre, presenting shows on a much bigger scale.

If you are or were an Abbey Player and have any interesting stories to tell, we'd love to hear from you.

Abbey Players - David Thomas Information

David Thomas MBE producer for Abbey Players until 1999 (click this link for details).