A 60th Birthday Message from our President, Lesley Sharp
It is a great honour to be President of Formby Little Theatre and to share in its 60th birthday celebrations. When I was a troubled teenager, Tina Morton and the Junior Section of the Theatre gave me a place of refuge and helped me to find a confidence that I don't think I would have found anywhere else.
The fun and creativity that we shared all those years ago helped form me as a person and has informed my work ever since. There is something so special about that little theatre and the dedication that it's filled with, and it still remains an inspiration to me. It was a place where I found out who and what I wanted to be, and I'm sure its place is in many hearts, not just mine
Theatre is a life-affirming art form which should be available to all, wherever and however we live, and it is a testament to all the members that the theatre has remained a firm and valuable part of village life for six decades.
It is important that we feel we belong to our community and places like the Little Theatre do just that. Long may it continue.
I hope it will be going strong in another 60 years time. Congratulations - I am so very glad to have been a part of it.
Lesley, x
From FLT 60th Anniversary Production 'Flare Path' programme.
Screen Star is New President
Screen Star is New President
REPAYING CLUB THAT LAUNCHED CAREER...
Film and TV star Lesley Sharp has been welcomed as the new president of FLT. Now a big-screen actress in films including 'The Full Monty' and 'Vera Drake', she wanted to give back to the club that launched her career.
Lesley grew up in Formby and was a junior member of FLT, formerly called Formby Theatre Club. It was as a child that she discovered her love for drama, which she developed into a successful career.
Also a TV actress, Lesley starred in the Channel 4 drama 'Born With Two Mothers' as well as ITV series 'Afterlife' and the acclaimed 'Bob And Rose'.
She visited the theatre, in Rosemary Lane, for a special welcome evening and told members how delighted and honoured she was to be president. Lizzie Morris, new member's liaison officer at FLT, said: "In her short speech, Lesley paid tribute to the amateur groups, such as Formby, which play such an important role in nurturing the talents of young people and said she hopes to visit Rosemary Lane Theatre on a regular basis."
The club has been running since 1947, when it was introduced as 'The Fellowship Players Dramatic Society' and had 34 members. In 1968 it became 'Formby Theatre Club' and at the start of the new millennium was re-named 'Formby Little Theatre'.
The amateur drama and theatre and theatre group now produces 3 or 4 productions at its theatre each year.
The club is looking to set up a junior section.
From The Formby Times by Lindsay Young
Lesley Sharpe visits Formby Little Theatre.
FLT History
Just after the end of World War II Eric Bodger was keen to form a dramatic group in Formby and, on 3rd December 1947, at a meeting in Holy Trinity Bowls pavilion, The Fellowship Players Dramatic Society was born.
A group of about 34 people attended the first meeting. The first play, in Holy Trinity Church Hall, was Flare Path in 1947.
In 1968 the group changed its name to Formby Theatre Club, and this was quickly followed by the acquisition of the old Sea Scout Hut and ground off the footpath between Rosemary Lane and Lonsdale Road, to act as a Club house.
Formby Theatre Club continued to present its plays and pantomimes at Holy Trinity Church Hall until 1984 when, after a great deal of hard work and fund-raising, the current theatre was built on ground behind the famous "hut".
In 1989 Formby Theatre Club became a member of the prestigious Little Theatre Guild of Great Britain, an association of privately owned amateur theatres with high production standards.
Over the last few years the theatre club have researched the possibility of extending the theatre building to improve facilities for the audience, actors and stage crew alike. Plans were professionally drawn up, planning permission provisionally agreed, and the concept of a 90 seat theatre awaited one essential element - a substantial amount of money! Despite applications to The National Lottery and appeals to local business, the funding has not been forthcoming.
With the new theatre project still in the background, it has become clear that essential works are needed on the theatre and hut. This is being undertaken with voluntary labour by Club members.
At the beginning of a new millennium it was decided to change the name to Formby Little Theatre in keeping with many other members of The Little Theatre Guild.
Douglas Carrick, Press Officer, April 2001