PART 1

The Beginning

Newspaper articles in our local paper, the John O’ Groat Journal, or ‘the Groat’ as we know it, provides that a drama group had flourished in Wick in around 1833; Queen Victoria was on the throne and when her husband, Prince Albert died, all frivolity was discouraged, so drama and play-actors were frowned upon. It took a long time for people to get over this prejudice and it was Queen Mary of Teck who broke the ice when it became widely known that charades were regularly played in the royal drawing room, and it was at this time that music halls then became very popular. ​

The John O'Groat Journal.

A postcard depicting women at work during the time of the herring fishing era, which our town's history is built upon.

Wick in the early 1930’s, was reliant on the herring fishing as the community’s main trade of work. Women worked as herring gutters and / or worked in service. There was poor wages and large families to feed, with ten of a family not being unusual. Some homes at this time still had no electricity and relied on gas lamps. Most had shared outside toilet facilities and coal fires for cooking and warmth in crowded homes. Television had not been invented, nor all the modern gadgets we take for granted today. Life revolved around work and there was little time for leisure, although there would be women’s guilds, church and Salvation Army, and Sunday was a day of rest for both men and women, and no fishing boats left the harbour until 12am on a Monday morning. No work happened at all, except for necessities such as doctor and nurses. Only a few had jobs outside of the fishing industry, such as shop staff, tradesmen, teachers, post office workers, young men in banks, bakeries and of course the fish curers who bought the herring and built most of the large houses we see in our town today in the likes of Miller Avenue and Thurso Road. These people had a better standard of living then and had time to enjoy life beyond work. ​

In 1931, when Caithness County Council in their wisdom appointed a young librarian, he thought he had come to a place which needed an injection of culture; Wick in his eyes had “no music, no theatre, no art”, but he was wrong. Visiting artists regularly performed in the local Breadalbane Hall. Teachers in schools would put on end of term soirées, when bright pupils would do their bit and Sunday school concerts were breeding grounds for young talent. In summertime, the ladies of the town would put on small pageants, occasionally complete with horses; all beautifully dressed in suitable attire down at our riverside or in the grounds of Rosebank House, later to become the Henderson Memorial Nursing Home, and the site of our general hospital today.

"Pageant Episode" at Rosebank on 27th June 1934. Amongst those pictured are Pat and Tottie Miller, Bunty Sutherland and Meg Fraser.

Our founder; K.S

Mr Kennedy Stewart (the Librarian) or K.S. as he was known, called a meeting, and "The Players" was born. Membership was 2/6 (which was a lot of money in those days). They put on a show in the Breadalbane Hall in the December of 1932 called "Show Number One". The evening of entertainment consisted of three one-act plays plus items filling in between such as solos, and poems. The Players were so ambitious that they decided to take "Show Number One" to Thurso where they performed in the Town Hall. Here, we quote an original player- the late Marley Robertson, whose son has served as a member of our backstage crew and a knowledgeable Stage Manager for many years:

We were overloaded, over ambitions, and overconfident. The curtain fell on the last item at about 1 o’ clock in the morning and the audience had gone home, it was a resounding failure, a shambles, and it left us in debt.

From what sounded like a resounding failure, K.S went on to produce a most challenging play, “The Ghost Train” (by Arnold Ridley). A three-act drama-thriller which was performed in the June of 1933. under the drama group's new name "Wick Players". The star of the show was the train itself, devised and timed to a second by the talents of the maths and science departments of Wick High School. The play was a success, with packed houses and at last the group were solvent and The Players became a recognised organisation by 1933. At this point, we should mention some of the people were founding members; Willie MacDonell (Local Post Master), David Sutherland (D. Sutherland and Son, Woodyard), Marley Robertson, Tottie Miller (John O’ Groat Journal), Wilma Oag, Bessie Leith (later Provost of Wick), Tom Matheson, Willie Miller (Local Insurance Office), Nita Rosie, Bunty Sutherland and Margaret Fraser. The scenic paintings were designed by James B. Simpson and Alex Johnston. Great credit was given to K.S for this production; he was a strict disciplinarian who insisted on prompt attendants and “books down”. ​

The cast of The Players' first successful production in action with "The Ghost Train". A well received and enjoyable show.

The remains of the Breadalbane Hall following the fire. Courtesy of The Wick Society (Copyright).

After their success with “The Ghost Train”, they bravely started rehearsals for a new play when disaster struck. Overnight, the Breadalbane Hall burned to the ground. The venue was a well kitted-out theatre with curtains, footlights, reliable electricity, great acoustics, a perfect stage, and dressing rooms as well as good seating. The hall was the perfect venue for visiting artists, soloists, musicians and dance groups and was a popular place for a variety of entertainment for all ages. The incident was a huge disaster for the town and was a real blow to The Players, and so the question posed was "do we have a future?".