Foundation

In early 1956 a group of members of Lambeg Presbyterian Church, led by Clifford Boyd established an amateur dramatic society to stage light entertainment to the local community. Clifford had arrived at Lambeg the previous year from Fernagh in Newtownabbey where he had been active in amateur dramatics. His vision led to the establishment of Lambeg Players

Those early days saw annual Christmas pantomimes and comedy sketches during the year; all performed in the church building. In those days the presbyterian church was located in a stone building held right in the middle of Lambeg village. The upper floor of the building held church services every Sunday, but when the Panto came around, the pulpit was moved, and a temporary stage was installed to stage the show.

Facilities were rudimentary at best with an outside toilet and a fire escape where artists would change between scenes.

By all accounts the conditions did not take away from the enjoyment of both cast and audience. These early days set in place a strong future for Lambeg Players, not only the annual pantomimes which we present to this very day, but the family ethos contained within the Company, as generations of the same family can trace their Lambeg Players connection back to the very start.

Growth

In 1964 the parishioners of Lambeg Presbyterian Church moved from their dilapidated building in the village to a brand purpose-built church perched majestically on the junction of Moss Road and Harmony Hill. The church changed its name to Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church, and in the years to come it enjoyed a great growth in its congregation, thanks to development of housing, bringing new families to the area. The church had its own hall, complete with permanent stage, as part of the construction, and Lambeg Players soon established themselves there for all their productions.

During this time Clifford Boyd continued to direct our productions, however, as a Scout Commissioner of some repute, he had also established himself as a co-Director of the Belfast Scout Gang Shows staged at the Grand Opera House in Belfast. One of his fellow co-Directors was Bobby Brown, whose son Henry retains his long membership with Lambeg Players to this day.

Clifford’s involvement with the Gang Show paved the way for the arrival of many talented performers from a scout background welling the Lambeg Players membership. More talent was available so productions got better, and audiences would travel from further afield to see our productions.

In addition to our annual family pantomime, Lambeg Players would also stage comedy plays, many of them written by Lisburn resident, Sam Cree. During the play season we would perform at many venues as well as the church hall, including the iconic Group Theatre in Belfast.

Comedy great, James Young, had made the group Theatre his home and the venue was well known for comedy performances. For a number of years, we also staged our annual Pantomimes in the Group Theatre, in addition to the church hall, but the cosy size of the “Group” always gave us challenges when trying to manage a cast of 30 plus with quick changes at the sides of the stage as well as negotiating the spiral staircase from the dressing rooms to the stage! Despite all the problems, the Group Theatre had a fabulous atmosphere and is sadly missed, not just by Lambeg Players, but the many other amateur dramatic societies who used to tread the boards there.

Even during difficult days of The Troubles both cast and audiences turned out to enjoy our latest productions. For our pantomimes the church hall would be full to bursting on most occasions, with extra seats being squeezed in to any available gap.

Present Day

In early 2000 we got notice that Lisburn Borough Council were planning to move to their brand new headquarters on the site of an old linen mill on the banks of the River Lagan. “Lagan Valley Island” was set to include, not only offices and the council chamber, but a restaurant, an Arts Centre and two theatres. The larger of the two theatres would have an audience capacity of 400 which would answer our capacity problem at Harmony Hill.

And so, in 2002 we staged our first every Pantomime, “Wee Willie Winkie” at Lagan Valley Island, a pantomime which saw Clifford Boyd’s grandson take on the title role.

Since then, we have staged our annual pantomime at this fabulous venue and now regard the place like home. A notable exception to our continuous annual panto performances was, of course, 2020 when the world was brought to a halt by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Clifford Boyd OBE sadly passed away in 2015, but we have no doubt he would have been immensely proud that his vision for an amateur dramatic society aimed at bringing joy to both cast and audience is still going strong seventy years after he started it all.