The forming of the Burton Leonard Dramatic Society (or Players as they were then known) was the idea of Mr and Mrs H Diggle (secretaries of the Cricket Club and WI respectively). They staged their first production “Almost a Queen” at the village hall in 1951. Although there had been one off concerts and theatrical performances in the village before this date, 1951 marked the formation of the Dramatic Society. The casts of those days were mainly drawn from the Cricket Club and WI and they performed their plays on trestle tables as the hall didn’t get its stage until 1954. In 1953 their patriotic “Pageant of the Queens” met a wider audience when it was performed at the Sun Pavilion in Harrogate. This occasion was also used as part of a BBC programme in 1977 called “Where Were You on Coronation Night”. In 1965 the village staged its first children’s pantomime.

From 1951 to 2013 the Dramatic Society has staged over 70 plays plus pantomimes, revues and concerts. Today it enjoys capacity audiences for its productions. With an active nucleus of nearly twenty the group is in good shape as it heads towards its eighth decade.

Dramatic Society History Photos