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Founded in 1937, by Newfoundland and Labrador playwright Grace Butt, the St. John's Players are the oldest theatre group in the province. Since its inception, the group has been active in the local theatre scene with the exception of two periods of inactivity in 1976-82 and 2005-2012. The group returned to the local theatre scene in 2013. It is an amateur group and all are welcome. No previous theatre experience is required.
The St. John's Players participated in the very first Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival in 1950 and, in 1952, won the inaugural Dominion Drama Festival - Newfoundland Region. That year it became the first group from the province ever to be invited to the national finals of the Dominion Drama Festival with Ladies In Retirement by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy.
Both the Fall 2013 production of David Ives All in the Timing and the Winter 2014 production of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor achieved critical success. The summer event was a staging of Magic Jack by local Grand Falls-Windsor playwright Shirley Morrow.
In the Fall of 2014, the St. John’s Players produced Vimy by Vern Thiessen. On April 9, 2015, the group performed Vimy at the Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival, where it received five awards: Honorary Chairman's Award for the best performance by a man; Allan R. Hillier Award for costume that most enhances interpretation of overall production; Allan Power Memorial Award for excellence in lighting design; as well as the D.A. Matthews Memorial Scholarship, and the Transcontinental Media Scholarship.
Also in 2015, the Players produced Victor Kaufield's The Why, Nunsense by Dan Groggin, and A Wonderful Grand Time Dinner Theatre.
For the 2016 season, the Company mounted The Odd Couple, Female Version by Neil Simon; Nunsense by Dan Groggin, and a local show called A Wonderful Grand Time Dinner Theatre.
The 2017 season opened with a fall production of Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicotte; and A Christmas Carol, adapted by Louise Kearley. The 2017 season ended with the remounting of The Good Doctor by Neil Simon. For the entry in the 2017 Newfoundland and Labrador Drama Festival, Jim Healey, as the Narrator, was awarded the Honourary Chairman's Award for the best performance by a man by adjudicator Robert Chafe.
SJP began its 2018 season with a dinner theatre murder mystery -- A Wedding to Die For adapted by Louise Kearley from an original play by Lisa Hurd, and staged at the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. This was followed by a five-night sold-out run of A Nice Family Christmas by Phil Olson. The 2018 winter production of Wit by Margaret Edson, was performed at the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Drama Festival. In April 2019, the Company performed The Maltese Bodkin by David Belke to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday on April 23, 1564 for the Drama Festival. During the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020-21, it ceased production.
Web site: www.stjohnsplayers.com
Last updated 2021-11-18