A lot has happened since January, and my only excuse for not writing sooner is that I’ve been busy acting (it takes a lot of effort you know), so, here goes………..

Firstly we must make note of the passing of Mike Wines, a member of the company over many years, and most recently seen in Murder in the Cathedral (2016) and Pericles (2017).    Here’s Mike in action in the former;

He will be greatly missed by all of us in the SSA.

January saw the Portsmouth News Guide Awards take place, and although none of our nominees (for SSA work or for work with other theatre groups) got first prize, the November 2018 production of The Tempest took a very creditable runners-up nod for Best Production.  Well done to Aaron, David, and the cast and crew.

We still need new premises to stash our costumes, props and scenery.  If you have any ideas, please get in contact via the email address or directly to any committee member.

Our production of SSA member Vin Adams’ original work, Besieged, took place earlier in March at the Square Tower.  If audience numbers and audience reaction are anything to go by, it was a huge success!  All 4 nights were sold out weeks in advance, and we managed to get both the Lord Mayor and the MP for Portsmouth South along to the production.  Huge congratulations to directors Nick Downes and Steve Blackham, to Vin as the writer, and to the cast and crew.  To stage a play about Portsmouth’s Civil War siege in one of the buildings at the heart of the story was very special.

That nice Mr Bartlett is putting on another Cabin Pressure members night at HQ on Friday 10th May.  If you’ve seen this before you’ll know it’s hilarious, and not only because of the script.  Make sure you don’t miss the usual cast of MJN Air idiots plus a few guest voices on the night.

Finally an early shout about the AGM – it will take place in May (date tbc) and is likely to be accompanied by the expo for our November production.  Full details of this important event will be shared soon.