We’ve done quite a few plays since we began,

and we’re still going strong today…

The Royal Manor Theatre Company has come a long way since its birth, more than 60 years ago as the Portland Dramatic Society! Sprung from the ideas of a dozen or so people wanting to bring live theatre back to Portland after the war, it's beginnings were small and modest.

Starting in 1947 the group joined various concerts, contributing sketches and thus gained experience. In April 1949, the first full-length play, "Mystery at Greenfingers" by J.B. Priestley was performed in the Masonic Hall, Victoria Square. This was the beginning of an active period for Portland Dramatic Society. Between 1949 and 1957 eighteen one-act and thirteen full-length plays were presented around the island. The Borstal Officers Club, Easton Methodist Hall, the old Palace Cinema in Easton Square, Brackenbury Schoolroom and the Jubilee Hall all played host to Portland's own theatre group. The plays presented included "The Bishops Candlesticks", "The Shop at Sly Corner", "The Hollow", "The Chiltern Hundreds" and "Blithe Spirit".

Here’s just a sample of what we’ve produced over the years…

1978	Wedding of the Year	1994	My Friend Miss Flint
1979	Murder in Company		Relatively Speaking
	The Other Fellow’s Oats		Post Horn Gallop
	Mist over the Mistletoe	1995	Who Says Murder?
1980	The Day After the Fair		Feeling the Pinch
	Big Bad Mouse	1996	Stepping Out
	The Full Treatment		Wait Until Dark
1981	Dark Lucy		A Letter from the General
	A Tomb with a View		Turning Blind Eyes
	Three One-Act Plays	1997	They Came from Mars
	The Deep Blue Sea		Same Time Next Year
	Aladdin	1998	Communicating Doors
1982	Blithe Spirit		Barefoot in the Park
	I’ll Get My Man		Deathtrap
	The Middle Watch	1999	Talking Heads
	Joking Apart		Haywire
1983	Wizard of Oz		Cinderella
	Murder Deferred	2000	Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime
	Busy Body		Jack and the Beanstalk
	Ring Round the Moon	2001	Love Hurts
	On Monday Next		Killing Time
1984	Gaslight		Tarara Boom De Ay (Playmakers)
	The Late Mrs Early		Rattle of a Simple Man
	Arms and the Man		Outside Edge
	Murder Mistaken	2002	Dark Lucy
1985	My Giddy Aunt		Kindly Keep It Covered
	The House on the Cliff		Dick Whittington
	The Owl and the Pussycat	2003	Deadly Nightcap
	Pool’s Paradise		Our Day Out (Playmakers)
1986	Kind Cousin		The Gingerbread Lady
	Just the Ticket		Party Piece
	House Guest		Portland's Peter Piper
	Daughter of the Left Hand	2004	Separate Tables
1987	When we are Married		Bazaar & Rummage
	A Funny Kind of Day		The Servant
	A Murder is Announced		Aladdin
1988	Educating Rita	2005	Pollyanna
	Aurelia		Fantastic Mr Fox (Playmakers)
	See How They Run		Trip of a Lifetime
	The Farndale Avenue Murder Mystery		The Shop at Sly Corner
1989	Waiting in the Wings		Good Night Mrs Puffin
1989	Suddenly at Home	2006	Alice in Wonderland & Parcel (Playmakers)
	The Late Christopher Bean		A Doll's House
1990	Spine-Chiller		Pygmalion
	Bonaventure		Arsenic and Old Lace
	Look No Hans		Snow White
1991	Night Must Fall	2007	Popcorn
	Plaza Suite		A Dog’s Life & The Pomegranate Seeds (Playmakers)
	Pardon Me Prime Minister		The Ghost Train
	Ladies in Retirement		The Birthday Party
1992	The Day After the Fair		Cinderella
	The Year After the Fair	2008	The Lover / After Midnight Before Dawn / Arthur
	Fish Out of Water		Teechers (Playmakers)
1993	Charley’s Aunt
	Murder on the Nile
	The Unvarnished Truth
	Nightmare

Of course, the company’s production history dates back much further than this!

Why not take a look at our ‘History’ page to find out exactly what sort of plays we produced all those years ago?