Priscilla Queen of the Desert

Summer 2024 brought Priscilla, Queen of the Desert the Musical - it tells the story of three friends, Tick, Bernadette, and Adam, a glamorous Sidney-based performing trio who agree to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a resort town in the remote Australian outback. As they head west from Sydney aboard their battered, old, bus, Priscilla, searching for love and friendship in their own way, they end up finding more than they ever imagined. 

With more glitz and glamour than Herne Bay has ever seen, a dazzling array of outrageous costumes and the ultimate sing a long dance floor favourites including “It’s Raining Men,” “Hot Stuff,” “Go West,” “Boogie Wonderland”, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” and “I Will Survive” this wildly fresh and funny musical is a journey to the heart of FABULOUS!

Here are just some of the production photos from this amazing show. Praise from the audience included "Absolutely loved it" "Best thing I've seen in a long time" "Loved it so much, I booked to see it again in the interval" "The singing, the dancing, THOSE COSTUMES. I will be talking about this show for a very long time" "Best night's entertainment all round" “I laughed, I cried, I danced! So much joy in one night” “Wow, wow wow! Thank you, just thank you” “The three leads are really good looking!” “One of the best productions I’ve ever seen at this theatre” "Such a feel-good show" "costumes are insane" "best time night I've had in ages" "I loved it so much I've booked again for Saturday"

Our NODA review is available to read now.

Thanks to our photographer Ruth Oliver for these fantastic photos! 

Our annual pantomime for 2024 went down well - Puss in Boots!

Production photography was done by Tim Hinchcliffe - here's some of his fantastic photos, visit his page to see the rest!

In July 2023 we presented Legally Blonde the Musical, which proved very popular with the audience.

NODA again came to review our show - read about it here.

Here are some of our production photos - taken by Danny Ireton Photography.

Elle finds the perfect dress for what she expects to be Warner's proposal.

To get into Harvard you need to have an impressive personal essay!

Winning Warner back isn't going to be as easy as Elle thinks, with Vivienne in the picture.

But it all ends well for Elle and her friends.

Our 2023 spring play at the Playhouse Whitstable was The Vicar of Dibley. You can read our NODA review here.

The show was presented to a sellout audience every night and went down very well.

In January 2023 we presented our pantomime Aladdin! written and directed by Cheryl Marksford. The audience loved to boo and cheer!

Aladdin lives with his brother Wishee-Washee in Peking.

Their mother, the Widow Twankey, runs a laundry there.

When evil "Uncle" Abanazer turns up, asking for Aladdin's help, all sorts of fun and games ensue.

Aladdin is in love with the beautiful Princess Jasmine.

 Made in Dagenham

This was our summer musical in 2022, a great return to the stage after the previous two years.

Noda came to see us and gave us a great review!

They even awarded the show an Accolade of Excellence!

Here's some photos from the show, which is based on a real story about the women in the Ford factory in Dagenham in the 60s.

The girls are working hard at the Ford factory, sewing seats for the new Ford Cortina, until they discover that their work is being downgraded - they're considered to be unskilled workers. And women get paid less than the men anyway!

 The grievance turns into a strike, and it's everybody out, in the exciting fnale of Act 1!

 Their protest spreads, and attracts the attention of Barbara Castle, a Government minister. It was fun having a Ford Cortina on stage!

  In the end, their protest takes them as far as the TUC, where their motion that women should be paid equally to men is accepted as a policy.

 But of course it's not just about the women and the strike.

There's two families - Rita O'Grady who works at the factory with her husband to support their two children.

Mr Hopkins runs the factory, while his wife is frustrated by running the house instead of using her history degree. When she learns of the women's protest, she helps them any way she can.

The men work in the factory building the cars, including Eddy O'Grady, Rita's husband. When the strike threatens his job as well, the marriage is put under strain.

And of course no show is complete without a bad guy - in this case the American executive flown in to bust the strike, Mr Tooley, who appears in the spectacular musical number that opens Act 2.

Post-Covid productions

In spring 2022 Theatrecraft presented Allo Allo at the Whitstable Playhouse to a sellout audience. The show was entered into the Kent Drama Association Full Length Play Festival, and received:

• Winner best actor in Cameo Role - Chris Perkins
• Runners Up Best Actor in a Cameo Role - Nick Easton and Mark Edwards
• Runners up Best Actress in a Cameo Role - Ann White and Chloe Hedger
•  Runner Up Best Wardrobe Achievement.

Again, the show was very well received by the audiences for each performance.

Our NODA review can be found here.

In January 2022 the pantomime was Cinderella. This was the first show since lockdown, and everyone was very glad to be back on stage or backstage working to entertain local audiences.

Our NODA review can be found here.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Our 2025 panto was a great hit!

Featuring Jack, Jill and Daisy the Cow, this panto by Cheryl Marksford played out to enthusiastic audiences in January 2025.

Photos courtesy of Chris Freed Photography.

Jack loves Jill, but can he deal with the threat from the Giant?

Jill's got plenty of support from the villagers!

And Jack has support from... Daisy the Cow???????!!!!

Jack's Mum and Jill's Dad have their own issues...

... while the Giant has support from these two Gargoyles!

Jack finds plenty of people to help him in his quest.

Even Voltan the Bird Man?

But the Giant isn't quite who they thought he was...

And of course everything turns out great in the end!

Theatrecraft is an award winning amateur dramatic society based in Herne Bay Kent. We have been entertaining audiences since 1948 and have made quite a name for ourselves. We put on three major productions a year - a play, a high energy musical and a traditional pantomime.

There really is something for everybody!

So why don’t you come and join us? We are looking for backstage, lighting, sound and wardrobe as well as actors, dancers and vocalists.

We are a vibrant and friendly group of members who also put on regular social events, as we so enjoy our time with each other both on and off stage. For further information, or to find out when we are next meeting, please drop us a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Our Spring play is Blackadder II - the Elizabethan Years.

Presented at the Playhouse Whitstable from 17th - 19th April, this promises to be a fun show!

Tickets are available via the Playhouse Whitstable website. 

Following this will be the musical Sister Act!

King's Hall, 17th to 19th July 2025.

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