Items from the Evening Gazette & Herald and Blackpool Times about  our very first show.   We do our best to reproduce the rather murky cuttings in our archive. These are the photos and review by the Gazette...

Marton Parish Church Amateur Choral and Operatic Society had their first performance last night.
  They presented a two-act operetta, "Cupid and the Ogre," in the New Church Hall at Marton.   It was a success.   Other performances will follow to-night and Saturday.
  "Cupid and the Ogre" is not a wonderful show in itself.   It succeeds in its  fantasy, but the music is solid without much delicacy.   The second act is incomparably better than the first.   Here is scope for brilliant-costumed action, and we had it last night.
  So much for the play.   Now for the players.   They erred much less than most amateurs do at a premiere.   This Society has a big future before it.
  The Ogre is a churly earl.   He gets at loggerheads with picnickers.   They enter his castle, dress themselves in the period costumes collected by his ancestors and he succumbs to the heroine.   Forty spirited performers and Mr. Stanley Jenkinson triumphed over limited stage space and got that ambitious scheme of things across the footlights.
  Mr. R. Murrow as the Earl had a "nasty" part in more senses than one. Miss M. Whittaker, the leading lady, looked delightful.   Both were almost perfect.   Their elocution was an object-lesson  for some amateurs.
  Other two whose accomplishments force them forward for special mention were Mr. F. Wade, the Earl's servant, and Mr. A. Howarth, who played what the programme described as "an anxiety," a description which cannot be bettered. The costumes in the second act were just gorgeous, and the gavotte a dream of beauty.
  Musically, the operetta was competently performed, as is only to be expected with Mr. William Hogarth holding the baton.   The chorus singing was powerful and clear, and the orchestra did nobly.
  "There is one master mind," said the Vicar, the Rev. C. W. Macready, B.A., at the close, "behind all this, and that is Mr. Stanley Jenkinson."   Mr. Jenkinson knows he has good material, and he was very confident about the future when he spoke.
  Besides those mentioned, "speaking" parts were taken by Mr J. Hitchen, Mr. W. L. Andrew, Mr. Webber, Mr. W. Turner, Miss Peggy Cardwell, Miss Mary Richardson, Miss Peggy Banham, Mrs. W. Cardwell, Miss Ruby Hill, Mr. Wade, and Mr Walsh.
  In the orchestra were Messrs Wright, F. G. Sutcliffe, Metcalf, Moody, Richardson, Swingler, Shaw, Prior, and R. Atherton, L.R.A.M.
                                                                                                                                  R.G.S.

And the Blackpool Times (no longer with us) gave this very full report.

MARTON CHURCH PLAYERS' TRIUMPH.
Successful Presentation of "Cupid and the Ogre."
Well received by crowded audience.

After seeing “Cupid and the Ogre,” presented by the Marton Parish Church Amateur Choral and Operatic Society, in the new church hall last night, one came to the conclusion that there were some very competent amateur theatricals in this part of the town, and a good proportion of these, members of the Choral and Operatic Society, associated with the church.
   The production – an operetta in two acts – perhaps not very familiar to local audiences, was much above the usual standard in the quality of its acting, staging and presentation.   It aspired to greater heights than is customarily the case on such occasions, and succeeded in attaining its object – a well deserved success.   Down to the smallest detail, everything was organised on the most up-to-date scale, and, given in the cosy atmosphere of the new church hall, provided an ideal evening’s entertainment.
   Not only was the play well presented, the acting good, and accompanied by a first-rate orchestra, with a complete variety of instruments, but the scenic effects were such that they provided an artistic background – something which is often forgotten, with lamentable results by many amateurs – and added much to the enjoyment of both play and players.
   A happy choice, too, was the production itself.   It was light and palatable, a kind of entertainment which, it is well-known, appeals to the majority of the townspeople.   There were some smart lines, humour which effervesced so much that it seemed to bounce back to the stage, and colourful singing which came remarkably well over the footlights.   It must not be forgotten, too, that there were some fifteen characters, all of whom were good, and the success and high standard of the performance was a direct result of all the players entering wholeheartedly into their respective parts.
IMPORTANT TRIMMINGS
“Cupid and the Ogre” actually has a plot, but much of its success may be attributed to its trimmings which embrace kingly kings, lordly earls, and elegant ladies of high rank and station.   Of course, there is a castle, pretty frocks, fresh and rosy-complexioned young ladies, and much …and humour...[text illegible or missing here]…excellent portrayal of a difficult but humorous part.   Mr J. Hitchen, in the role of “Captain Clarence Samazu,” in love with “a lovely girl,” does not forget the military character of his study, and emerges with honours.   “Violet Silverglade” (Miss M. Whittaker), “Sir William Nottatoughm” (Mr. W. L. Andrew), “Hon. Donald Doddletrot (Mr. Webber), and “Monica Dearmetutt” (Miss Peggy Cardwell) all give clever characterisations.
   One more word, the players have been praised, but the man behind it all – the producer, Mr. Stanley Jenkinson – must not be overlooked.   That a master hand had a part in the production was apparent at first sight, and was confirmed by the programme.   The operetta was a triumph for the society, and Mr. Jenkinson, as the producer.   An opportunity for those who have not seen it, to sample the production, will be available to-morrow (Saturday), when it will again be staged in the church hall.
                                                                                                     A. S. L. R.                          

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