Welcome to our 50th season!

In 1976, a group of local theatre lovers gathered in an old farmhouse and decided to start a community theatre. They each paid $20 to start building a set in a barn and mounted the first show (Don’t Drink the Water) in Cobourg West High School. It even “toured” to Brighton High. We have come a long way from that inaugural show with its $400 budget.

For the next nine years, rehearsals and performances were held in the two local high schools, Burnham School, local churches, the Golden Plough Lodge, the Cobourg Armouries, the Cobourg Motor Inn, the Northam Restaurant, and Victoria Hall, to name a few places. In 1985, the Town of Cobourg granted the Players a twenty-three year lease for the Second Street Firehall. Over the last 40 years, the building has been transformed through three interior renovations and several exterior upgrades. We are proud of the Firehall Theatre and the Town of Cobourg’s commitment to the Northumberland Players. Today, the Town of Cobourg, Victoria Hall, and Cobourg's Best Western Plus, along with the Cameco Capitol Arts Centre in Port Hope, remain integral partners of the Players.

This season is a celebration of those partnerships. We have, in many ways, been defined by our venues. This season alone, we will mount a total of 92 performances of 10 shows in 4 venues: the Firehall Theatre, Best Western Plus Cobourg Inn, Victoria Hall, and Cameco Capitol Arts Centre, Port Hope.

The Firehall Theatre is the perfect venue for powerful dramas and witty comedies. There is not a bad seat in this intimate 55-seat theatre. The Revolutionists, Looped, The Memory of Water, and The Last Real Summer tell powerful stories with extraordinary characters. Each show transports you to a different time and place and examines the complexities of human relationships. The Firehall is a place of award-winning performances. Last season, A Doll’s House, Part 2 won many awards at the Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival, including Best Play, Best Female Lead, and Best Director, to name a few. Magic happens in this theatre. If you have never been, give this theatre a chance. You won’t regret it.

The Best Western Plus Cobourg Inn & Convention Centre is the home of the best dinner theatre experience in Eastern Ontario. Our shows in this venue aim to make you laugh. The Play That Goes Wrong is the funniest play you will see. It has been selling out worldwide and here it is in Cobourg. Leading Ladies continues the farcical theme and Where You Are changes things up with a charming, feel-good Canadian comedy. All three make for amazing evenings of dining and theatre.

The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall is a beautiful, historical place to experience music. Annie Jr. is one of the most popular family musicals and is performed by the Northumberland Players Youth Theatre. Our summer camps are developing our young actors, and our family shows have been selling out the last 6 years. Annie Jr. has a tremendous cast of local young talent. Not only will your family love the show, but you will be supporting the young performers in our community.

This holiday season, a special partnership will delight the entire family with Once Upon a Christmas: A Northumberland Players Presentation Featuring Safe Harbour Choir. Two organizations filled with local talent are teaming up to bring you a magical night of Christmas cheer and song. The cabaret seating is a perfect way to spend time with friends and family just before the holidays.

The Cameco Capitol Arts Centre has been the home of our major musicals since 1996. The Players are known for mounting incredible musicals in this venue. In last season’s Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival, the Northumberland Players production of Something Rotten! won several awards including Best Costumes, Best Male Lead, Best Supporting Male Actor, and Honourable Mention as Best Play, to name a few. This season we bring you Mamma Mia!, one of the most popular musicals, seen by over 70 million people worldwide. With its hit songs, Mamma Mia! never gets old, and with a limited run this show will sell out. A perfect show to chase away the February blues!

We want you to join us to make this 50th season of Northumberland Players our best. Spend your entertainment dollars in our community. Local community theatre is affordable, with free parking and no traffic. Have dinner in our community and support the local economy. Three hundred of our volunteers work hard to bring you professional-quality shows right in our backyard.

Thank you to the reading committee for reading dozens of plays, to our directors and actors who will bring these shows to life, and to the creative and artistic volunteers who will spend thousands of hours painting, sewing, building, designing, and planning to bring you high-quality theatre. Thank you to our Board of Directors and various committee members for your impactful work. Thanks to our marketing team for keeping us current and our archiving team for recording our past.

Thank you to those people in that farmhouse 50 years ago. Thank you to the wonderful volunteers over the past 50 years. Each generation has inspired the next. Thank you to the Town of Cobourg for appreciating our contribution to this community. The community is blessed to have had the Northumberland Players for 50 years. Raise a glass to another 50 years of quality community theatre by the Northumberland Players.

Jack Boyagian
President and Artistic Director