The second floor of Bridgewater Memorial Arena at 123 Empire Street will soon be home to local theatre group South Shore Players. The theatre group is set to move in just in time for their November/December production of A Christmas Carol.
South Shore Players has had many homes since its inception in 1993. Initially, the theatre group was the idea of Roy Portchmouth, a former member of the navy who relocated to Blue Rocks from England. Portchmouth wanted to mount a production of A Christmas Carol despite there being no theatre in Lunenburg at the time.
Jon Allen, president of South Shore Players’ board of directors and a cast member in its first ever production, recounts that Portchmouth felt confident there was lots of local talent in Lunenburg.
“We sort of dragged people off the street,” says Allen. The first performance took place in the Lunenburg Community Centre, and the group has carried on putting on two productions a year ever since.
From 2002 to 2015, South Shore Players performed in the Pearl Theatre (formerly called the Starlight Theatre) in Lunenburg. From 2015 until present, the theatre group has performed in church halls in Lunenburg and Mahone Bay.
South Shore Players’ new space will have storage for costumes and props, a backstage “green room” for actors, as well as a large performance space.
“Once we’ve got it, we’re in there,” Allen says. “We know we can rehearse anytime we want. It’s so much more flexibility.”
Thirty years after Portchmouth decided Lunenburg was in desperate need of theatre and dragged some friends together to put on A Christmas Carol, South Shore Players is presenting the very same play in their new venue.
Great news ! South Shore Players is a vital pulse in our community and community theatre !