Portadown Phoenix Players 
rise from the ashes of lockdown

The local theatre group has had tremendous success both on and off stage, with unstinting local support. Over the years they have won both NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) and AIMS (Association of Irish Musical Societies) theatre awards for their cast and overall productions,

They have also been fortunate financially to have been successful in attracting small grants and to have played to packed houses for many years. However, when Covid-19 hit Northern Ireland, their carefully laid plans for this year could not go ahead and they had to take the difficult decision to postpone their production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ until next summer.

“Back in November of 2019 we began to plan for our summer 2020 production of ‘Guys and Dolls’, with talks happening with our creative team and dates and a venue confirmed,” explained Jonathan Reid, Secretary of Portadown Phoenix Players.

“The Portadown Phoenix Players have been producing shows and concerts for young people in the area for nearly 35 years, with cast members as young as six and people coming as far as Belfast and Dundalk to take part.

“We had announced our plans publicly just over a month before the lockdown was put in place with the thoughts that the virus wouldn’t affect Northern Ireland as such to implement a lockdown. We were wrong, of course, and saw many other local shows cancelled or postponed indefinitely. We eventually decided to postpone ‘Guys and Dolls’ to summer 2021 to give us plenty of time to leave the lockdown period and plan for the show as normal.”

As well as not being able to tread the boards this summer, the company also struggled financially, as they had to stop their usual fundraising activities. “As we only run during the summer months, all our usual fundraising endeavours – table quizzes, coffee mornings, bag packing days – have been cancelled too,” continued Jonathan.

However, refusing to be disheartened, the members of the company have been keeping in touch during the lockdown and are confident that their loyal supporters will be out in force once again when they return to the stage next year. “It’s times like these when we really see the importance of supporting your local arts groups,” added Jonathan. “When we next take to the stage, knowing that we have the support of our community helps ensure a creative, fun, and safe future for our young people is available long into the future.

“We have provided a safe space for young people to learn and be creative for summer after summer, with many families coordinating their summer around show dates and rehearsal schedules. Over lockdown we’ve been keeping in contact with our members and sharing memories and rehearsal throwbacks, and we can’t wait to be back in the rehearsal room with everyone creating new memories - we’ve missed our Phoenix family.”