About Us

Waldron Community Players was formed in 2001 to generate and sustain community spirit through the medium of drama in the small, rural village of Waldron, East Sussex and to encourage residents of all ages to meet together, share skills and learn about the history and culture of this old village.

The first production, about the village in the 18th century, was The Smuggler’s Tale. Performed in July 2002, this was a community drama, played mainly outdoors with the audience promenading with the action and moving between three locations: the village square, the church and Nan Tuck’s hovel.

The second production (July 2004) was Waldron at War which told the story of the grit and resilience of the villagers who lived through the period of the Second World War 1939 – 45.

The third production, The Maid's Story, was performed on 13th, 14th and 15th July 2006.

The 2008 project was a film short called Finding Esther, shot in June/July 2008 with a first showing in February 2009. It is set in and around the village and is about a 16-year-old village girl who went missing in the 1920s. As a result of the publicity surrounding the film, Sussex police decided to re-open the case and the story went global. Click on Finding Esther for more.

2010 saw a return to the Players' roots, with Black Sheep, a play based on the real story of a man from the Waldron area who was transported to Australia at Her Majesty’s pleasure, in the first half of the 19th century, not once but twice!

It is the intention of Waldron Community Players to continue to use community drama as a vehicle to involve all ages in celebrating the history and culture of this ancient place.

Waldron is a picturesque, rural village in a beautiful part of the Wealden district of East Sussex. It has 307 households and a population of about 800, a mix of long-established families and more recent arrivals. It is within reach of the towns of Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells (each 14 miles distant by road) and Brighton (25 miles). London is some 50 miles away.

Although Waldron no longer has a village school (closed in 1969) or village shop (the last one closed in 1999) it still has an old, family-run pub, The Star Inn, and an ancient church, All Saints’, whose foundations date back to the 11th century. The village also has a cricket team (the game has been played here since the mid-18th century), a Croquet Club, a well-supported Women’s Institute and the Lucas Memorial Hall where village events are held.

Painting of the Star Inn, Waldron (artist unknown - reproduced by kind permission of Paul Lefort)

Please click here for a full-size copy of our logo.

Please Click here to open a Streetmap.co.uk map of Waldron in a new window.