Pembroke Players
Encyclopedia
Pembroke Players is an amateur theatrical society in Cambridge, England, founded in 1955 and run by the students of Pembroke College, Cambridge
. It is the most active College drama society in the University, staging 10-15 drama productions and comedy smokers every year. It is also the only College drama society to run its own international tours. During its lifetime it has been the starting point for many prominent actors and comedians, such as Clive James, Peter Cook and Eric Idle, and more recently Jonny Sweet and Joe Thomas. The Society celebrated its 50th birthday in 2005.
Pembroke Players also has many distinguished alumni. Recordings survive from early productions and Smokers in the 1950s and 1960s featuring original material written and performed by, inter alia, Peter Cook
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
, Bill Oddie
, Eric Idle
, Germaine Greer
, Clive James
. Pembroke Smokers were also the first meeting place for the Monty Python
group. Innovation was not limited to the performances either; a poster from a 1970 production features one of the earliest examples of computer generated ascii art
in advertising.
In the early 1980s, Robert Bathurst
was a prominent member of the society.
Many other tours have been run since; the most recent being "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde
in 2005. However, in recent years, the German Tour has been superseded by the Pembroke Players Japan Tour.
An edited record of the performance is on You Tube: Romeo & Juliet
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
. It is the most active College drama society in the University, staging 10-15 drama productions and comedy smokers every year. It is also the only College drama society to run its own international tours. During its lifetime it has been the starting point for many prominent actors and comedians, such as Clive James, Peter Cook and Eric Idle, and more recently Jonny Sweet and Joe Thomas. The Society celebrated its 50th birthday in 2005.
The early days
Pembroke Players was founded in the Autumn of 1955 in Room F3, next to the chapel bike racks. In addition to theatre, the underlying purpose of the society was to enable students at the then all-male college to meet ladies from across the University, and accordingly the first meeting was attended by 5 Pembroke men and 48 assorted New Hallers, Girtonians and Newnhamites. (This first meeting subsequently culminated in several marriages.) The first theatre production, 'Ring Around the Moon' (Anouilh), took place in snow-struck Blinco Grove in February 1956. (College guarantee £50, bill for damage to hall £18.) The history of the society has also been documented in Pembroke In Our Time (2007, Third Millennium Press).Pembroke Players also has many distinguished alumni. Recordings survive from early productions and Smokers in the 1950s and 1960s featuring original material written and performed by, inter alia, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
, Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
, Eric Idle
Eric Idle
Eric Idle is an English comedian, actor, author, singer, writer, and comedic composer. He was as a member of the British comedy group Monty Python, a member of the The Rutles on Saturday Night Live and author of the play, Spamalot....
, Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
, Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
. Pembroke Smokers were also the first meeting place for the Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
group. Innovation was not limited to the performances either; a poster from a 1970 production features one of the earliest examples of computer generated ascii art
ASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
in advertising.
In the early 1980s, Robert Bathurst
Robert Bathurst
Robert Guy Bathurst is an English actor. Bathurst was born in the Gold Coast in 1957, where his father was working as a management consultant. His family moved to Dublin, Ireland, in 1959 and Bathurst was enrolled at an Anglican boarding school...
was a prominent member of the society.
Today
Whilst a term's worth of shows constituted one or two productions and involved a dozen or so people back in 1955, 50 years later the story is much different. The society now holds up to 8 theatre and comedy events per term, along with an annual College Pantomime, student poetry evenings and the Pembroke Players Japan Tour. Pembroke Players also hosts a termly Black Tie Smoker in the tradition of the '50s and '60s Smoking Concerts , with performances from both college and Footlights regulars. The current president of the Pembroke Players is Michael Cotton (Pembroke College).Pembroke Players German Tour (1957 - 1970, 2005)
The first Tour of West Germany took place in the summer of 1957, after one of the founders of the Society became the unintended recipient of a letter addressed to the Cambridge Mummers, inviting them to record Hamlet for German radio. Following a little moonlighting the Pembroke Players secured the tour for themselves instead, playing at venues in Bielefeld, Essen, Düsseldorf and Cologne. The tour was recorded in its entirety for Nord West Deustche Rundfunk and was conducted under the auspices of 'Die Bruecke', a spin off of the British Council.Many other tours have been run since; the most recent being "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
in 2005. However, in recent years, the German Tour has been superseded by the Pembroke Players Japan Tour.
Pembroke Players Japan Tour (2007 - )
The Pembroke Players Japan Tour was conceived by a small group of Pembroke students in 2006 and spun off from the main committee as a separate body. It was launched with a vision of youth exchange via a modern, accessible Shakespeare production and accompanying workshops. The tours build upon Pembroke's long historical links with Japanese institutions. The society has enjoyed the patronage of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and the GB Sasakawa Foundation since its inception.PPJT 2007
The inaugural tour of Romeo and Juliet staged five performances in Japan, visiting Tokyo, Wakayama and Kochi. It also held UK performances at the Embassy of Japan and the Barrandov Opera in Needham Market. Press and public reaction was highly favourable.An edited record of the performance is on You Tube: Romeo & Juliet