What were your thoughts about the theatre?

[time please]

I took part in what I believe to be the first ever production in the Theatre. A play about Wounded Knee. I recall that I rode around on a wooden horse. It was embarrasing at the time and still is.

[Ajarn Philip]

I don't remember Wounded Knee, but it seems that DNP had a definite western theme going when he first arrived, as I was in the last (I think) Big School production, Indians, centred around Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. No wooden horses, but I seem to recall there was a real pony, surely too small to be ridden by the burly Julian Garner as BB. All a matter of perspective, of course, I can't have been more than 13-14.
It certainly made a pleasant change from 2nd years playing Shakespearean girls...

[wurzel]

When the Capital Theatre in Horsham shut in the early 80's CH theatre i believe managed to get the arts council grants for the area which is why we used to get all sorts of weird and wonderful productions (i remember there was always posters up for Button Moon). We also used to have school films in there charged at something like 20p as VHS was still in it's infancy and yet to reach houses, i remember watching a film called "The Mechanic". I also remember mastermind and an Anti Drugs talk by David Kossoff, the father of Paul Kossoff from Free

I too performed in various DNP productions, Macbeth, Tamburlaine (with modern staging inc a jeep) but not La Traviata as my singing (or lack of) wouldnt allow that. At that time one of the movable sections of seating was permanently parked in the scenery dock.

[ASR]

I don't remember Wounded Knee, but it seems that DNP had a definite western theme going when he first arrived, as I was in the last (I think) Big School production, Indians, centred around Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. No wooden horses, but I seem to recall there was a real pony, surely too small to be ridden by the burly Julian Garner as BB. All a matter of perspective, of course, I can't have been more than 13-14.
It certainly made a pleasant change from 2nd years playing Shakespearean girls...

I very clearly remember taking part in 'Indians' in my final year 1973. It was the first time girls were imported from Horsham to play the female parts in a school play . . . except that I was the exception – and cast as sharp shooter Annie Oakley and the First Lady. One of my tasks was to sit on masters' laps in the audience and confuse them which I did.

Our lot helped raise the money for the theatre, but never got to use it. I would have loved to have done so.

[Fertii]

It was, at the time, one of only a couple of theatres in the country that could have the audience going 360 degrees around the stage - with the extra balconies at back of the stage. They were in the props room for the most part but towards the end of my time there, they were installed permanently. I did a performance each year, starting with Oliver, Jungle Book, La Traviata, MacBeth, Guys and Dolls, Bodywork and Bugsy Malone....not necessarily in that order. Loved the theatre, loved DNPs wrap parties - UF and above could drink as I recall...got absolutely schizzled. Did the fashion show too and also helped out with a couple of junior productions with make up and set painting.

It was certainly a major part of my life at CH. Really liked DNP and also Terry in the sound box. Seats were, yes, painful, and as I remember it was always a scramble to get the middle floor soft seats for school films or any house production.

It's another thing about CH that makes it as unique as it is....

[Jabod2]

I very clearly remember taking part in 'Indians' in my final year 1973. It was the first time girls were imported from Horsham to play the female parts in a school play . . . except that I was the exception – and cast as sharp shooter Annie Oakley and the First Lady. One of my tasks was to sit on masters' laps in the audience and confuse them which I did.

I remember Adrian, but not his drag bperformance, my attention being rivetted on the scantily clad imports from the 'Highsham Whore School' (head mistress Dr. G V Hoare, I kid you not)...

[Jabod2]

Roger Highfield and I christened the sound system with Max Frisch's 'The Fire Raisers' where we managed to send a quadrophonic fire engine 3 times round the stage. Dunky had a hissy fit when we missed a sound cue duriing rehearsals... Ping Vincent Smith was sweating blood at the time to get the home-made lighting console working - the thermionic triodes (FETs?) kept blowing expensively and he was seriously under stress to get it fixed.