STROUD'S Cotswold Players have been shortlisted for two regional theatre awards.
The amateur dramatics group has been recognised in the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) South-West awards, which celebrate excellence in non-professional theatre across the region.
Their production of Frankenstein, staged last November and directed by Samantha Swinford, has been nominated for Best Drama Production.
Meanwhile, the stage décor for January’s political comedy Whipping It Up has earned a nod in the Stage Décor category.
Judy Free, chairman of the Cotswold Players, said: "I am thrilled that we have been nominated for both plays.
"Frankenstein was a tour de force, cleverly staged and beautifully crafted, with some wonderfully sensitive performances.
"Whipping it Up turned out to be the perfect comedy to banish 2025's January blues.
"I am so pleased that the director, set designer, builders and props team have been recognised for the effort they put into the box set decor with all the period details and cleverly imagined contents and furnishing.
"It was phenomenal."
Philip Douch, who directed Whipping It Up, praised designer Rod Clifford and the set team—Babs Kilmister, Collette Hall and Christina Heward-Mills, for their creation, which depicted a busy, chaotic and shabby office in the House of Commons.
He said: "It is so nice for the play to be recognised and I am very grateful to everyone who brought us their bits of tat to clutter the stage."
The awards evening will be held in Exeter on Saturday, May 23, and is organised by NODA, whose patrons include Andrew Lloyd Webber and Connie Fisher.
The Cotswold Players are Stroud’s long‑established amateur theatre company, founded in 1911 and now based at the Cotswold Playhouse on Parliament Street.
They initially staged productions in church and public halls before converting a former Primitive Methodist chapel into their own theatre in 1957.
Today they run a fully equipped 150-seat venue, producing several plays a year and hosting visiting companies, youth work and community events.
For more details see the Cotswold Players website.
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