History

Over the years, as a club we have accumulated lots of materials ranging from meeting minutes, programmes, photographs, newspaper articles and we soon realised that we didn't have an up to date, accurate recording of our history. In 2018, we began our archives project which involved sifting through all the material, cataloguing everything in date order to piece everything together, and we also roped in two of our stalwarts, who very willingly helped us along the way.

Kathlyn Harper (nee More) and Donald Farmer have been members of Wick Players for many years and we are indebted to them for their efforts throughout the many years they have been members of the club, but also for their dedication in aiding us to preserve the history of Wick Players.

Kathlyn Harper

Kathlyn first became involved with Wick Players in 1947 and she has described it as seeming like "forever!". When she turned eighteen, she stepped up to the role of secretary and she can remember most of the people who were players from the very beginning, and she can recall some very fond memories. A keen supporter of the SCDA, Kathlyn often directed entries into the Association's one-act play festival, with one her most special times with the players having reached the Scottish Open Final in 1952 with J.A Ferguson's "Campbell of Kilmhor". Kathlyn is still an active member of Wick Players, attending AGM's and club get-together's but most of all she enjoys travelling with us wherever we go in festival season. In Kathlyn's words "I hope you enjoy reading about our history as much as I have enjoyed reminiscing over the special times I have had with this community minded club, which I hold very dear to my heart".

Donald Farmer

​Donald first become involved with Wick Players, when he was asked to come along to a script reading, and whilst he appeared on the stage only a couple of times, Donald found his talent in directing... and boy, did it take us places! In 1965, he produced "Rizzio's Boots" as an entry into SCDA's one-act play festival. From there, he directed some of our most successful productions ranging from one-acts to three-acts, to pantomimes and musicals, one of his favourites being Tony Ropper's "The Steamie". In 1998, Wick Players reached the British Final of One-Act Plays, winning for the country under Donald's direction with "Lone Star" by James McLure, an experience he will never forget. Donald is still a member of Wick Players today and enjoys being in the audience and assisting where he can, providing knowledge and advice where needed. It's fair to say that drama is a passion of Donald's, this being evident in his contribution to our extensive history.