New home for the Wheatsheaf Players

The Wheatsheaf Players, based at the Co-operative Theatre in Watersmeet Road, Stoke since 1980, were forced to vacate the building earlier this year when the Heart of England Co-operative Society decided that economic conditions meant that it could no longer support the theatre.

But now Wyken Working Men’s Club, on nearby Ansty Road, is to become the players’ new venue, putting on the next year’s programme of productions.

The new chapter in the Wheatsheaf’s history begins on April 26, with Animal Instincts, a double-header of one-act plays written by members of the company.

An American Werewolf in Cornwall, by Dean Sheridan, and Shark, by Lewis Pike O’Hara, will be performed on Wednesday 26th, Thursday 27th and Saturday 29th of April. Another new play, Couples Undercover, by Peter Aslan, another member of the Wheatsheaf Players, is set to be the next production for the company.

With the loss of its old theatre, the Wheatsheaf has been desperate to keep alive its long-running Youth Group and has now announced that the group will also move to the Wyken club, with its weekly session moving to a Thursday.

A Wheatsheaf Players’ spokesman said of the new venue, “It has great facilities for the actors and patrons, a full size stage, seating for more people to enjoy our shows and a fully stocked bar. Audience members will still be able to experience our normal hospitality of wine/juice and biscuits upon arrival”.

To book tickets, contact the box office on its new number, 07521 693822, on go online at www.wheatsheafplayers.com.

Pictured above, the Wheatsheaf Players in one of their last shows at the Co-op, and below, their new home, Wyken Working Men's Club, Ansty Road.