Past Productions

When a well-known local figure is blown sky-high in her allotment shed, the quiet village of Gaddesden Bottom is thrown into chaos. As the Police Inspector begins to investigate, it quickly becomes clear that beneath the polite smiles and parish niceties lies a tangled web of grudges, secrets and simmering rivalries.

Our audiences enjoyed a delicious supper while the story unfolded around them. They gathered the clues, weighed up the suspects… and tried to solve the mystery before the final reveal!

Originally published as ‘Dig for Vengeance‘ by Patricia Gay. This performance by arrangement with Lazy Bee Scripts (www.lazybeescripts.co.uk)

The Heavenly Path is a 57 minute radio play by our own Patrick Isherwood.  It’s a comedy/thriller which deals with a serious subject that has come to the forefront of public debate.

The play is set in 2030. A coalition government is considering amendments to the Assisted Dying Act that was passed 18 months earlier. The legislation was introduced to give effect to the growing demand for state support for euthanasia following several years of consultations and parliamentary debates. A key element in the legislation has been the creation of so-called Heavenly Gate Centres where people are led gently along the ‘heavenly path’ towards their end. The legislation also provides tax and other incentives for those who opt to end their own life in this way…

Visit our What’s On page to listen

Playing to enthusiastic audiences shortly before Christmas, 2024, Dick Whittington & His Cat, a newly written pantomime by Louise van Howse, packed ’em in to Little Gaddesden Village Hall.  Directed by Georgia McCarthy it included all the traditional characters, features and jokes of a proper panto.  Oh yes it did!

Underlining once more the popularity of our revues, Here We Go-Go Again! filled Little Gaddesden Village Hall with music and laughter on 2, 3 and 4 November 2023.  Directed by Shaun McCarthy and Benjamin Dawson, it involved a mix of pieces – solo, ensemble and company numbers, and a blend of musical items and acted sketches.

We agonised about our first production since the start of the pandemic: what to do, and when to do it?  In the end we chose Michael Aitkens’ crackling comedy Waiting for God.  Ably directed by Patrick Isherwood and with sparkling performances from our talented cast, this production played to packed houses in October 2022.

The play is something of a gem:  as well as being really funny – sometimes outrageously so – it deftly explores many issues of growing old and society’s attitudes to the elderly.  Hardly the material for a comedy, you might think, but in Michael Aitkens’ capable hands it truly is.

Revues have always been popular with the Little Gaddesden audience and this production reprised and refreshed some of the popular items from earlier revues alongside new material, including some iconic sketches and songs. A cast of over twenty delivered 24 different items that provided an opportunity for our actors to perform to their strengths.

Written and directed by husband and wife team and LGDC’s very own Patrick and Anne Isherwood, Thicker than Water is an unflinching exploration of nature and nurture with plenty of laughs along the way.

WIXIT! is the sixth play in the Extraordinary Women series of short plays for radio written by Trisha Wood. In it the ladies of Great Titley Women’s Institute (WI) bow to pressure from one of their members and decide to hold a referendum on whether to leave the National organisation. To the committee’s surprise there is a yes vote (52-48%) which leaves them with some uncomfortable choices. Image credit: cliparts.co

J.B Priestley’s first play set in the 1930s explores the dangerous turn an evening takes when a chance remark by one of the guests sparks the demand for the truth. Directed by Nan Newberry.