PAINSWICK thespians will be taking their audience on a whistle-stop tour of their greatest hits next month when they raid their back catalogue for some of the most dramatic moments from the society's long history.

The Painswick Players were launched back in 1923 by Lucy Hyett, the grande dame of Painswick House.

"She staged As You Like It at the big house," said the players' Jack Burgess.

"For almost 40 years she directed all the plays. "She had what was really an aristocratic role in the community. "She was the feudal overlord of the place."

"Lucy was apparently a formidable person who did not suffer fools gladly."

It seems Ms Hyett ruled the Painswick Players with an iron fist for four decades until her demise.

"She got to the Christmas production in 1961 and was heard to say this production will be the death of me and it was," said Jack.

"She was right, as always, and died just after the final performance."

Lucy Hyett left such an impression on the amateur dramatics society that a story built up that she was still keeping an eye on their efforts.

"In the 80s there was a legend that whenever a butterfly was seen fluttering about in the Painswick Institute it was Lucy Hyett watching over things," said Jack.

"I never believed it but in 1987 we were rehearsing for our Christmas production. "It was late November, not really the time of year for butterflies.

"It was late at night and we had just been through a technical rehearsal where everything that could go wrong did.

"All of a sudden this butterfly appears and flits around the stage, alighting on everything as if it was checking things out.

"Then it came and landed on my head and the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. "We still see it from time to time."

With their founder's death the Painswick Players ceased to be and could have become a footnote in history if it were not for a relaunch within a matter of months by a splinter group.

"They changed the name to the Country Players and started performing again," said Jack.

"Whereas Lucy Hyett had done a lot of Shakespeare and other equally worthy classics the Country Players moved onto what you would consider standard amateur dramatics fare.

In 1982 the Country Players gave way to the Painswick Amateur Dramatic Society (PADS) which carried on until 1994 when it too ran out of steam.

But, after a gap of three years, it was revived and in 2000 it was decided to return to the original name of the Painswick Players.

The group is not without its celebrities and one of the original Painswick Players was Julian Slade, who went on to write Salad Days, the biggest musical in the West End for a large chunk of the 1950s.

He will be returning to the village for the players' celebration of the anniversary on Friday, July 11.

"We are calling it Living Legends, which is going to be a show made up of excerpts of our greatest hits," said Jack.

"There will be things from the last 40 or 50 years with the original actors.

"Some people haven't acted for 20 or 30 years and some have gone on to bigger and better things.

"We're chopping it up like a salami with various people in charge of various productions. "It's going to be a challenge and it will be interesting seeing how it all turns out."

"There's quite a buzz in the village about it and we are hoping for an appearance from Lucy Hyett in butterfly form, or in voice form at any rate, coming from the ether."

Even those who would not consider themselves theatre goers may have come across the players at Painswick's popular Victorian Market Day.

The actors have in the past been seen masquerading as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, and set up the Quiponitron fully automated joke machine, and a saucy 'What the Butler Saw' stall.

Jack's own career highlights include a star turn as Back End of Cow and a none-too-bright guard in the player's popular pantomime, a Dragon's Tale, which he wrote himself.

"The reviewers praised my udder control," he said. "You can steal scenes as back end of cow by retracting your udders at the right moment."

As to why he scripted himself a less-than-glamorous part in the panto the answer is simple.

"The role was perfect for me," he said. "As you get older it's more and more difficult to remember your lines so you tend to need a part with immediate impact for very little effort."

He put the continued success of the society down to Painswickian staying power and the residents' desire to stay involved in the community.

"An awful lot of us were pointed towards exciting careers like banking and accountancy but always wished we'd done drama.

"It's a good community activity which requires a wide range of skills and abilities, front stage and back stage, and you do get a terrific kick out of having put on a production.

"And Painswick is the sort of place where things do go on and on," he said.

"It has the oldest bowling club in the country, they've been going for 450 years, it has the oldest village rugby club in the country and a cricket club that goes back to the 1860s.

"It has quite a high percentage of retired people who have been very active in their lives and still want to be involved in the community.

"Let's face it, Painswick has a mature population who still want something to do with their time."

Tickets for Living Legends are available from the Painswick Post Office and Shetland Shop.