| Status: | Active, open to new members |
| Leader: | |
| When: | Varying dates |
We are not an amateur drama group and neither are we a bunch of retired actors. What we aspire to be is a group of like-minded souls who enjoy going to Live productions at 6 principal theatres within our immediate region.
- Harrogate Theatre
- York Theatre Royal and Grand Opera
- Leeds Playhouse and Grand
- Darlington Hippodrome
For further information please contact Arlene Coulson via the link.
Ripon & District Theatre Visits Group continues to grow in number and attract new members. We try to make our forward programme attractive and varied but the choice of productions available is often quite limited.
The trend towards minimal sets and smaller casts, with actors often playing several different roles, continues. Two other current trends we have noticed are increasing physical agility on stage and the ability to play a musical instrument, both of which are becoming part of an actors skillset more frequently.
We try to find a suirable venue and production for an annual 'Away Day', this being a full day out and usually hiring a bus for the travelling. We have done Theatre by the Lake, Keswick for some three years but last year was different again - we went to Keighley, where we caught a special steam train up the Worth Valley to Oxenhope Station to see a remarkable production of 'The Railway Children' staged within a railway shed. We have been disappointed not to have been able to find any recommendable production for this summer 2026.
Our annual social lunche continue to be very popular with the membership. So far we have held this in November where it serves as a kind of pre-Christmas event. Our venue so far has been The Inn at South Stainley who have the most functional room sizes for our purpose, prepare a menu with good choice at a competive price and whose car parking and bus stop for the 36 bus are logistically hard to equal at any other location. We have now made a reservation at The Inn, South Stainley once again - the date Thursday Nov 26th.
THEATRE VISITS FORWARD PROGRAMME
Herewith our programme of visits in place for the coming months. Your Committee do their best to select as wide and varied a selection of available productions, and we look forward to your support of the programme and hope that you will keep an eye out for the booking form procedures which you will receive well ahead of each event.
| Date | Theatre / Venue | Production |
| Saturday Sept 12th 14.30 | Harrogate Theatre | Dial M for Murder |
| Thursday Oct 8th 14.00 | Darlington Hippodrome | Twelve Angry Men |
For further information on our Forward Programme and various other interesting alternatives, use the link to see the latest edition of our Newssheet compiled by our 'Theatrical Newshound', Arlene Coulson.
THEATRE VISITS recently made
| 2025-26 | Theatre | Production / Event |
| June | Leeds Grand | Little Women |
| July | Leeds Grand | The Girl On The Train |
| August | Oxenhope Station | The Railway Children |
| September | York Grand Opera | Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts |
| October | York Theatre Royal | Murder at Midnight |
| December . | Leeds Playhouse | A Christmas Carol |
| January 2026 | York Theatre Royal | The Constant Wife |
| March | York Grand Opera | Death on the Nile |
| April | York Grand Opera | Come from Away |
| May | Darlington Hippodrome | Glorious |
| July | Ripon RUFC | Talk / Nicola Down / 'Thrills & Spills of My Life in Television' |
SOCIAL EVENTS
| Social Lunch Thursday Nov 26th 12.30pm The Inn, South Stainley |
Please also keep watching our group website for latest news or changes which we may have to make. When you can, do come and join us. You will enjoy having a fun day out with like minded people.
