Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club has roots going back to 1896, and are the longest-running amateur dramatics group in Greater London. Their latest production told the stories of people affected by the second-world war in Carshalton. Ian Akhurst, above, plays the BBC news announcer.
The show ran from 20 to 22 March 2025 and was held at the atmospheric St Mary’s Church in Beddington. Were you there?
One of the longest-serving members of the group is Dick Bower who has been involved with SADC since the 1970’s and he helped write the drama documentary style show.
However, the main creators were members David Thompson and Ella McDonnell, who worked in collaboration with local historians.
Ella is a nurse specialist at the Royal Brompton hospital.
She told Secret Carshalton “I joined the club at the end of 2021. Knowing the stories of local residents at such an important time in history, that only just remain in living memory is so important.”
David is a retired Performing Arts lecturer from Croydon College, and has been a member for 18 years.
He said “The mix of comedy, tragedy, local and national news, drama and song we knew would make an evening’s entertainment on an important subject… eighty years on, but with war in Europe and present turmoil perhaps unsettling us now.”
The Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club orginally held all its main productions at Sutton Public Hall, a long-lost venue.
English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer Noël Coward performed on July 23rd 1907 in a concert at the Sutton Public Hall when he was 7 years old. As a child, he lived for a while in Lenham Road, Sutton.
The victorian building stood on Hill Road opposite the Civic Offices on St Nicholas Way. The public hall was built in 1878 and demolished around 1981.
The Sutton Amateur Dramatic Club and others like it, are keeping alive the tradition of local drama, and offering storytelling to compel audiences.
It also provides opportunites for young and upcoming actors to develop their skills.
The next production will be called Big Big Sky and will be held at Cryer Arts in Carshalton High Street.
