The culmination of the Club’s 50th celebration was the unveiling on 9th February of a plaque, by kind permission of David Blyth of the Ambassadors Group, at the stage door of Trafalgar Studios, which when it was the Whitehall was the home of the famous Whitehall farces, starring Brian, now Lord Rix. Another plaque is to be erected at Her Majesty’s, thanks to Stan Hales of the Really Useful Group.
During their time at the Whitehall Theatre Rix, his late brother in law Peter Mercier and Ray Cooney, invited other theatres to form teams to play occasional mid week games. One of the other actors involved was the LTCC’s current President Douglas Blackwell, who was at Her Majesty’s Theatre in “ No Time for Sergeants”. With a number of other casts in the West End they set up the west end theatres cricket league in 1957 which became London Theatres Cricket Club. The plaques recall some of those who in the early years made it happen.
Club Chairman Roger Mutton said “Remarkably we fulfilled an almost complete season of games in ‘08, playing 24 matches in and around London. Winning 14, Drawing 1 and Losing 8, with a “No Result” from 1.
We celebrated the anniversary with a splendid re-union tournament of seven aside games at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire. Over 50 actors, directors, producers and technicians turned out to play including several who had not turned out for us for over ten years.
London Theatres Cricket Club also extended a big thank you to all the clubs it played during the season, especially the people in charge of getting the wickets in a fit state to play, despite the weather.
--Club Chairman
