Issue 3 2026
Image credits:
Daniel Ferris
David Allsopp
Pymble Players Archives
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PO Box 203, St Ives 2075
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Pymble Players Inc is a proud member of The Association of Community Theatre Inc.
“Creativity is intelligence having fun” – Albert Einstein
From the President
Hello members and past members,
From the warm-hearted hug of The Heartbreak Choir to the unbridled hilarity of Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall and on to the upcoming rich and innovative retelling of Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas, what a super mix of Pymble Players plays we are experiencing at the Zenith Theatre in 2026.
Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall: This show was a huge success with top production quality and record audience numbers. Very imaginative direction by Declan Moore, a highly talented cast and a very professional production team led by Daniel Ferris (who stepped in as production manager), Diane Howden as stage manager, and Ross Alexander who led the complicated set construction. Special mention also to our marketing team (Bronwyn Watkins, David Allsopp, Linda Young and Tonia Davis) for their constant efforts to sell our productions.
We were delighted that the co-playwright and Artistic Director for the Ensemble Theatre, Mark Kilmurry was able to attend a performance and stay to meet the director, cast and production team after the show. Mark was very impressed at the ‘business’ which had been added to his play.
We had great pleasure in having the ever supportive and popular Mayor of Willoughby City Council, Tanya Taylor attend our opening night and address audience, cast and production team.
A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas: We are proud to present this adaptation as a first to Australian audiences and to be dedicating the play to two giants of community service and theatre; John Howitt and Tom Sweeney OAM. Rehearsals are well under way, heading towards opening night on Friday 13th. Glowing team spirit abounds with the high-quality cast and production team under the excellent direction of Joy Sweeney. This will be a delightful theatrical experience. Please invite all your friends and family to join us for this wonderful Christmas finale to the year.
Child Safety: Due to the presence of children in our upcoming production, we have adopted a new Pymble Players Child Safety Package in consultation with the Office of the Children’s Guardian (OCG), the NSW government statutory agency. This includes a Statement of Commitment to Child Safety, a Child Safe Code of Conduct, and a Child Safe Policy.
Sound at the Zenith Theatre: In our ongoing objective to produce the highest quality experience for our Pymble Players audiences, we have been using wireless body mics for our 2026 plays. This resulted from the recommendations of our directors, an audio readiness assessment by a professional audio engineer, and Zenith audience feedback. We will continue this practise throughout 2027. As always, if any members or past members possess skills in this discipline or any other of our technical operations (light and sound) or who would like to be trained, we would love to hear from you.
I look forward to seeing you, and your family and friends, at A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas. We greatly appreciate your on-going support!
Warm regards
Warren Blood
President
AND THAT’S A WRAP! – Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall
By Mark Kilmurry & Jamie Oxenbould
By arrangement with David Spicer Productions
Commissioned and first staged by the Ensemble Theatre
Directed by Declan Moore
31 July – 9 August 2026
A Note from our Director
With the final curtain call now a memory, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a sincere thank you to everyone who poured their heart, soul, and countless hours into making our production the great success it was. It was my first outing as director for Pymble Players and the positive support, advice and friendship offered by the entire committee and team made the experience a wonderful one.
Thank you to our hugely talented cast of Michael, Emily, Murray, Kate, Harry and Ciara. They were as passionate, bonded and collaborative off stage as they were wonderfully entertaining on stage. Brimming with impeccable comic timing and energy, but also with heart and relatable vulnerability, no wonder the audiences loved them all!
From set construction, technicals, stage crew and lighting to set painting, sound, props and costumes - thanks to all for keeping the many manic mishaps in this fast-paced play cleverly confined to the stage! Four of the team that deserve a special mention are my assistant director (and close advisor on all things theatrical) Sarah Dolan, my two technical wizards, Daniel Ferris and Casey Moon-Watton, and my amazing stage manager, Diane Howden. Your combined endless work, artistry, and attention to detail in aspects big and small helped build the entire wonderful world our audience stepped into.
Finally, to those audiences, thank you for your support and for filling our season with much laughter and joy. The energy you brought to the room made every single performance such a worthwhile and rewarding experience for the whole cast, crew, team and company.
Declan Moore, Director
OUR NEXT PLAY – A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas
By Charles Dickens
Adapted by Michael Wilson
By arrangement with Michael Wilson Productions, LLC
Directed by Joy Sweeney
13 November – 22 November 2026
This rich and heartfelt retelling of Dickens’ beloved tale brings Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey of redemption to life with theatrical magic, music and warmth. It’s a festive celebration of generosity, transformation, and the spirit of togetherness!
A Note from our Director
Well, here we are at the pointy end of rehearsals for A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas. And what a fun and fascinating rehearsal time it’s been AND what a challenge! With a cast of 22 including six children and four dancers, Daniel Ferris and I have been flat out in the wrangling department. Everybody is working incredibly hard on stage and behind the scenes and you are in for a treat. As we rehearse more, we’ve realised what a great show this is for children. It’s only short and full of visual surprises – they will love it. So, if you have grandchildren, great grandchildren or neighbours’ children please bring them along. In addition, what wonderful acting performances you’re going to see. It’s not a musical but it’s jam-packed with beautiful music, dancing and great acting.
I feel privileged in bringing Michael Wilson’s adaption of this wonderful play as a first to Australia, and to the Zenith Theatre. A must-see production!
Thank you to Stage Whispers for their featured article on A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas by David Allsopp here.
Joy Sweeney, Director
About Joy Sweeney
Joy Sweeney has been around theatre for more years than she would care to remember. A life member of Willoughby Theatre Company she has been a performer, costumier, part of production teams and a cabaret writer and director. This will be the sixth play she has directed for Pymble Players. The others being Dial M for Murder (2018), The Odd Couple (Female Version) (2019), Moonlight and Magnolias (2022), Gaslight (2023), and It’s Only a Play (2025). A self-confessed Christmas tragic she wrote and directed the Christmas Spectacular (2007 and 2009) for Willoughby Theatre Company which included a choir of 40 and a 25-piece band.
Bookings are now open. Click the button below for tickets.
Joy Sweeney, Director
DEDICATIONS to John Howitt and Tom Sweeney OAM
John Howitt – Patron, Pymble Players Inc
A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas is dedicated to the memory of our former patron and North Shore identity, John Howitt. John loved Christmas. The complete opposite of Ebenezer Scrooge, John was effortlessly kind and endlessly generous.
Over the years, John played Santa Claus so convincingly at Christmas functions that many of us began to believe. Tragically, in December 2016, John lost his life in a traffic accident on his way to the Merry Makers Christmas function.
John left Pymble Players a substantial financial bequest which has previously allowed much-needed technical equipment upgrades and has contributed significantly to covering the cost of mounting this fine production of A Christmas Carol - A Ghost Story of Christmas. We are sure our beloved patron would be well pleased.
This larger-than-life, genial, gentle man is still greatly missed after ten years.
Tom Sweeney OAM – Vice President, Pymble Players Inc
A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story of Christmas is also dedicated to the memory of Tom Sweeney OAM. We lost our dear friend Tom this year. He was a vital member of the Pymble Players community in recent years, and, among other things, he was instrumental in procuring the rights to this show.
Tom received the Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday 2018 Honours List for his service to the performing arts and to the community of Willoughby. 2018 was also the year that Tom and Joy began their relationship with Pymble Players – with Joy directing Dial M For Murder and Tom portraying Inspector Hubbard.
During his time at Pymble Players, Tom brought his characteristic ‘can-do’ attitude, with seemingly endless energy, flair and inventiveness, and became Vice President of Pymble Players.
He is much missed.
ANNOUNCING OUR 2027 SEASON
2027 will be our 70th Anniversary, so we’ve decided to celebrate with a year showcasing great comedies. We’re excited to announce that our three shows for 2027 will be:
RED HERRING
An Amateur Production By Arrangement with ORiGiN™ Theatrical, on behalf of Dramatists Play Service, Inc - A Concord Theatricals Company
Written by: Michael Hollinger
Directed by: David Allsopp
Three love stories, a murder mystery, and nuclear espionage converge in this noir comedy about marriage and other explosive devices.
Season: 12 March – 21 March 2027
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
By arrangement with ORiGiN™ Theatrical, on behalf of Samuel French - a Concord Theatricals Company
Written by: Neil Simon
Directed by: Alexandra Pelvin
Experience the laughter of newlyweds Paul and Corie Bratter in Neil Simon’s timeless romantic comedy.
Season: 6 August – 15 August 2027
YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU
By permission of ORiGiN™ Theatrical on behalf of Dramatists Play Service, Inc - a Concord Theatricals Company
Written by: Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
Directed by: Joy Sweeney
Snakes in the dining room, fireworks in the basement, and ballet in the living room! Welcome to the eccentric Sycamore family.
Season: 22 October – 31 October 2027
Subscription tickets for the full 2027 season are ON SALE NOW
When you subscribe for 2027, you get to see all 3 plays for only $90, get an early-bird choice of dates and seats, and the option to change your dates throughout 2027 for a nominal fee.
Click the button below for more details on our 2027 season, including info on how to subscribe, or to download the full season brochure.
AUDITIONS – RED HERRING
Auditions are coming up soon for our first play for 2027, performing at The Zenith Theatre, Chatswood:
RED HERRING - written by Michael Hollinger and directed by David Allsopp.
Closed Auditions (by appointment only) will be held from 7.00pm on Tuesday 24 November, Wednesday 25 November and Thursday 26 November. Callbacks (if required) will be from 2.00pm on Saturday 28 November.
Audition Venue: Killarney Forestville Girl Guides Hall, 12 Tralee Avenue, Killarney Heights NSW.
Synopsis: Three love stories, a murder mystery, and nuclear espionage converge in this noir comedy about marriage and other explosive devices. It’s 1952: America is on the verge of the H-bomb, and Boston detective, Maggie Pelletier, must solve a Harbour murder or miss her Havana honeymoon. Outrageous misunderstandings collide with a whirlwind of laughs as this blunt-nosed, sharp-eyed comedy takes a look at love and tying (and untying, and retying) the knot.
This production is both a love letter to and a spoof of classic film noir tropes. The veneer of hard-boiled detectives and nuclear espionage hides the play's true heart: the survival of three unconventional couples during an era of political paranoia.
Click here to learn more and download the full audition information pack and application form.
VALE David Anthony Terrence Leadley
Known to us all as Tony Leadley
We pay tribute to former Pymble Players member Tony Leadley, who has died aged 98. His was a remarkable life from lunching with Queen Elizabeth II in his Cambridge university days, to moving his family to Australia and taking on new career paths. He was an outstanding rower with local success for Cambridge against Oxford and winning the European Championships with a colleague in a world record breaking performance.
Style was a word that characterised Tony. Always dapper. A sharp dressed man, as testified by his son Philip, as being the only person he knew who put on a tie every morning before brushing his teeth. Tony’s mellifluous voice was used as a voice over for some time in Pymble Players productions.
Tony appeared in many Pymble Players productions, such as Florence, Absurd Person Singular, The Lion in Winter and finally Social Security (with Jan Johnson). So began the enduring friendship between Jan and Tony which lasted the rest of his life. His work interfered with rehearsal commitments, which restricted his on-stage performances. He was an active committee member and prolific maker of props. His attention to detail was legendary.
Tony was justifiably proud of his son, Simon, one of Australia’s leading audio and music for film craftsmen, who launched the legendary Trackdown Studios at Fox Studios, now Disney. He organised for Simon to show Tony and I around the studios where so much music magic occurred. Simon unfortunately predeceased his father.
Tony remained active in marketing and promotions, selling everything from Rena Ware pots and pans to Rainbow cleaning services.
He was an engaging and entertaining man – comfortable with a new acquaintance as he was in meeting celebrities and sportsmen and as his son Philip has said, holding court with Philip’s clients at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Tony retired at age 90. He was still part of an occasional play reading group that Linda and I hosted for a few years. We would marvel at his enduring skill and cold reading skills. He moved to the Anglican Retirement Village at Castle Hill which he greatly enjoyed.
Jan Johnson will have the last word. “He was the quintessential gentleman. Always well dressed, impeccable manners, friendly and pleasant. He rarely ever spoke a bad word about anyone. A life well lived.”
Thank you to Philip Leadley and Jan Johnson for this content.
Geoff Jones, Life Member
ARTISTS AWAY
Janina Hamerlok is in Bette & Joan with D2 Productions Oz, 6-15 November 2026, directed by Declan Moore. All profits in aid of Dementia Australia. D2productionsoz@gmail.com
Kate Mannix is in The Audience at Castle Hill Players, 13 November to 5 December 2026
Michael Mulvenna is in Don't Dress for Dinner at Hunters Hill Theatre, 13 November - 6 December 2026
For inclusion in Artists Away, please let us know details of the production in which you are performing or involved by sending information to theatre@pymbleplayers.com.au (Attention: Noises Off). We look forward to hearing from you!
REVIEWS – Midnight Murder at Hamlington Hall
Great reviews from What’s the Show, Stage Whispers and Sydney Arts Guide.
