Our April 2024 play closed to much acclaim, having attracted a capacity audience for the Friday night of the run. Here was the reaction of just one audience member:"...a wonderful play with lots of depth...the cast did a brilliant job on the opening night – I laughed, enjoyed the music, and was on the verge of tears at the end...". With several cast members taking multiple roles, this was a great opportunity to show off the versatility of our acting talent. Many thanks to our director, Pat Riley, and her very able assistant, Anne Mark, and of course to all in the cast and backstage crew who worked so hard to make this happen. And most important of all, a very big thank you as always to our loyal patrons. We couldn't do it without you!

Our thanks to Tony Zigmond for these excellent pictures which really capture the spirit of the production.

Jim Cartwright's “Two”, first performed in 1989 at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton, is a bitter-sweet and moving play which deals with an instantly recognisable range of working-class characters in 1980s Northern Britain.

For us it is April 1989. Since the 1920s the frosted glass windows of a traditional Armley pub have hidden those inside from passers-by, but now you can come in with us and get to know them. The Landlord and Landlady bicker as they serve their throng of pub regulars, but is there real bitterness underneath the jokes and the warmth of the welcome they give to us all? What has happened to this hard-working Yorkshire couple to create ice where previously there was love?

Our thanks to Donna Shoesmith-Evans for this review of "Two" which will feature shortly in "Adel Bells":

On a pleasant evening in April, a group of us enjoyed viewing ‘Two’ performed by the Adel Players – a bittersweet, comic drama.

The play’s key theme looked at marriage – people in a relationship – and how you fall in love and become part of Two.  The play was set in April 1989 in a traditional Armley pub. The landlord and landlady saw all the relationships play out and we, as the audience, watched theirs.

The play revealed that being part of Two, on the one hand can bring pure joy and simple happiness, as seen with Fred and Alice, but with others it can bring anger, despair and be very controlling as seen with Lesley and Roy. 

Young love was seen with Moth and Maudie – but he was more interested in her pay packet than her – and she was desperate for a marriage proposal and seemed to forgive him everything, despite what her friends at work were clearly saying to her. 

An old woman pondered on her husband who was ill at home and looked at how love can last a lifetime when bodies and minds change – she was in a caring role for him – and her words resonated as she tried to do all she could for him. She also enjoyed her nightly Guinness in the pub too! 

An old man drank quietly remembering fondly his wife who had passed away but who he could remember and bring back the memories of them together.

Mr and Mrs Iger were an unusual couple – as he was very nervous – and struggled to get to the bar to order a drink – and she clearly wanted someone stronger – both mentally and physically.

The landlord and landlady were very sharp with one another but as their story unravelled, they had clearly been through a tragedy which still resonated with them – and the young boy in the pub waiting for his dad (who had forgotten about him) made them remember what they had also lost.

The play was performed by 8 actors – who swapped and played 14 characters as pints were pulled and relationships dissected. It was a simple set, based in the pub itself. The play had the structure of a variety show – and sharp talking comedy made way for bleak urban poetry – a karaoke singalong one minute, a domestic abuse drama the next.  There were plenty of laughs but also much to reflect on with the joys and stresses of working lives. 

The range of emotion covered links to the age range of the cast – from 11 – 91 – and shows the wide ranging talent of the Players. Janet Porter played 4 different characters – all word perfect – and simple costume changes assisted with the changes. Rob Colbeck played 2 roles – and as  domestic abuser, Roy, was very convincing, with partner Lesley (played by Digna Sindin Rodriguez) literally quivering in his presence. Several jeers from the audience highlighted how convincing he was. Well done to all involved in this production.     Donna Shoesmith-Evans