The Rococo Players are a unique amateur dramatics society, in that unlike other groups, they never know where their next performance might be.

Although they began life doing open air plays in Rococo Gardens near Stroud, the group now go wherever the next opportunity may arise.

“We’re not tied to any specific venue or any time of year,” explained the Chair of the Players, Antoinette Wilson, “we’re always open to ideas of what play to do next and where!

“We do one show a year, and they tend to be historical plays. In 2018 we did ‘The Crucible’ in Cheltenham and Cirencester, which was very powerful.”

These performances of the classic play starred a cast of around 20 actors, with ages ranging from 17 to 80 years old.

Antoinette continued: “We’ve already got a very strong core of people involved on our committee and we also advertised for people to come along and join in.

“We’re always looking for new members, and had some fantastic actors joining us last year. Even though we’re all amateurs our standards are very high.”

Antoinette herself has been with the Players for around 10 years, after joining to direct special performances of Edward II at venues which included Berkeley Castle and Gloucester Cathedral.

She said: “I used to teach drama at Cheltenham Ladies College for 24 years.

“I’m a real believer in community theatre and now focus much of my time on enticing people to come along and see our shows.”

In terms of plans for this year, the Players will be holding their annual general meeting this month and encourage anyone who might have an interest in getting involved to attend.

Antoinette explained: “Our AGM will be at the Cheltenham Playhouse on Tuesday 15th January at 7 o’clock.

“We’re always open to new actors, behind the scenes crew, directors, or anyone who’d like to suggest a play for us to tackle.

“We’re also always on the lookout for new venues that we can come and share our shows with.

“The Rococo Players are a sociable bunch and always love new faces coming along. I think our spontaneity and diversity is what makes us unique.”