Common Players Archive:

The honourable tradition of ‘strolling players’ reaches far back into English theatrical history: groups of travelling players would stroll from village to village performing plays in barns and inn courtyards. Essentially, that was how Common Players began – by walking into town in procession, performing our show, camping overnight, and then moving on in the morning. Communities were extremely receptive and responsive to these shows. Audiences, often in remote locations, were able to experience the thrill of live theatre without having to travel miles to larger venues.  Many of our projects had rural or ecological themes and these proved both interesting and pleasing to audiences, whilst, at the same time, complementing the rural settings in which they were performed. Some of our most recent productions include:



Tracks and Traces - an interactive performance for young people about the landscape of Exmoor. Common Players worked alongside The Exmoor Society and the Exmoor National Park Authority to create this performance for schools and at the heart of the project was the question “What should we do with the land?” The show used multimedia and interactive Forum Theatre methods to draw the audience into making decisions on how the story should unfold.




CiderWithRoadies - inspired by local apples. We are always seeking new ways to connect to potential audiences unused to theatre-going, and the apple has proven to be a potent symbol around which people can gather and do things together. CiderWithRoadies used creative activity to enthuse people about their community and in particular the many forgotten apple varieties. The project was supported by Heritage Lottery, Arts Council and regional LEADER projects in Teignbridge and The Blackdown Hills.



Devon Apples
Part of the CiderWithRoadies project - which also included theatre shows and community apple pressing - involved making links with regional apple producers and championing local apples via a new website. Devon Apples.co.uk connects people to their apple heritage as well as to local professional apple services. It is interactive, and enables people to upload information and contribute to the development of this regional resource. Take a look by clicking the logo.

Past Productions:

For more information about past productions click here.

Annual Reports:

To watch the Common Players annual Video Reports click here.