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The Tennessee Darkies was our name in 1922, and Richard Shaw Jepson was our founder. By day he worked for that famous ex-Chesham firm, ‘Liberty’ in Regent Street. He was a talented amateur violinist and a fine conductor, especially of choral singing. He brought together an assortment of singers, mainly from the church choirs of the town and particularly the Congregational Church in the Broadway (now the United Reformed Church), where he was choirmaster. |
After three performances of the Tennessee Minstrel Show, Jepson and his assistant, Sara Christie, renamed the Society - The Cestreham Singers and Players, their first show, in 1924, was a concert version of Gounod’s Faust, followed by a fully costumed performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. Sara Christie was the heart of the company, and contributed largely to its success. A fine contralto and a splendid actress, she had a ‘presence’ both on and off the stage and a large commanding figure to go with it. |
In 1925 the Cestrehams started on an almost continuous run of Gilbert and Sullivan shows, lasting right up until 1937. Maurice Barnes, who was the organist at the Congregational Church, joined them for the first of eight versions of The Gondoliers to be performed by this group and its successors. Barnes was a fine bass baritone and a first class actor, he was also a very gifted musical person and he and Sara Christie performed splendidly in all the early productions. With R. S. Jepson at the helm, the group staged The Mikado (twice) in 1926; Patience in 1927; Iolanthe, Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore in 1928; and their last show to be staged at the Chesham Town Hall for 5 years, The Yeomen of the Guard in 1929. |
As the Regent Cinema in Amersham was owned by one of our patrons – Mr Alfred Woodley – he naturally made it available to our company. Seating 600 people and sporting a 30ft wide stage it was ideal for our purpose but, after three years, modern technology (the ‘Talkies’) cut short our stay in that location and we were forced to move once again. However, we stayed in Amersham, moving to the Playbox Theatre in Station Road, in 1932, to perform The Pirates of Penzance and to repeat The Yeomen of the Guard the following year. The Regent Cinema was demolished in the 1960s to make way for a supermarket, but the building that housed the Playbox (later renamed the Playhouse) still exists, it is now the auction rooms. |
By the early 1930s the club was back in Chesham, performing a concert at the Equity Hall, just opposite the Broadway Baptist Church. This hall was owned by the Co-op and still stands, although now it is the offices of a solicitor, for many years after the war it was used as the town council chamber. The company revisited the Chesham Town Hall twice more, for a Vaudeville Show and, in 1934, a production of Ruddigore, we also staged two productions in the Empire Hall, Station Road, one of which was a ‘straight’ play, Lord Babs, and the other a new staging of The Gondoliers. The newly built Co-op Hall in Broad Street was our final venue before we temporarily disbanded in 1938. The Co-op Hall became the site of the British Restaurant throughout the war years. The Empire Hall, which was located at the top of Station Road, was demolished after the war as part of an office redevelopment plan, as was the Co-op Hall which made way for the new Lloyds Bank building. |
The Cestrehams were far from being an affluent society. The shows were produced on a ‘shoestring’, with the members themselves making the scenery and the costumes. The committee had great trouble restraining Jepson from spending cash they didn’t possess; he often gave the impression he would like to have the London Symphony Orchestra in the pit instead of his faithful amateur group - the Mid-Bucks Symphony Orchestra. |
