Key Players is a community theatre group, based in Farnham, Surrey, led by Artistic Director and founder Sophie Key. Key Players creates work that invites both actors and audiences to ‘involve, engage and inspire’.
The Key Players Approach
“You have a real gift for bringing people together and uniting them around a singular vision"
Jacob Wignall, Key Players Actor
The power of great theatre lies in connections. Actors connecting with each other, actors connecting with the audience, audiences connecting with the text. For these connections to grow, and develop and work, the actors need a trusted rehearsal space where they feel supported in their discoveries.
Sophie’s approach to her productions is to create this space, and therefore these connections. Most of her productions are preceded by a series of workshops, where the actors can hone their craft without the pressure of performance. She brings in other industry professionals to enhance the learning process, and offers mentorships to young people starting out in the industry.
CONNECTIONS
In 2023, Sophie became an accredited teacher of the Gonsalves Method, developed by the highly regarded Aileen Gonsalves, whom Sophie first worked with whilst directing for Lightning Ensemble Theatre company. The Gonsalves Method, with it’s focus on authenticity and connection, is now at the forefront of Sophie’s approach to directing.
In two of her recent productions, ‘Little Women’ and ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ this pursuit of connection with the audience has led Sophie to create immersive promenade productions. Exploring the ways to work with the audience in this way has been both liberating and exhilarating.
METHOD
“I have admired your creative skill and direction and calm way you skillfully move everyone into better actors”
Richard Stride, Key Players Actor
“What an AMAZING show (Much Ado)!! SO well written and directed. It absolutely MUST live on in some way”
Paula Oakley, Key Players Set Designer
Creating the right connection with the audience also comes from making sure that the script speaks to them in the right way. Sophie has enjoyed taking on the challenge of adapting the script for three of her most recent productions, inspired greatly by her father who was the writer, Jeremy Paul. She particularly enjoyed adapting ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in which she gender reversed most of the roles, to give the women more of a voice, and drew on local history and research to set it in a lively WW2 environment, full of the Land Army Girls, some Canadian soldiers and a Dad’s Army inspired Home Guard.
ADAPTATION
A FAMILY YET TO DISCOVER
(Finn Walters, Key Players Actor)
Who Can Join In?
Key Players welcomes both professional and
non-professional actors. We are proactively
seeking to support talented artists who are currently under-represented in the theatre
sector. Anyone interested in auditioning for
a Key Players production should send a
covering note and a photo to...
Previous Productions
To find out more click on the images...
CONNECT WITH US
@key_players