New Hardy Players production 2005
In the autumn of 2004 Olive Blackburn and Devina Symes asked Norrie Woodhall what she would like for her 100th birthday the following year. Without hesitation, she asked that the Hardy Players be reformed to perform a play to celebrate her centenary. By chance soon afterwards, Harry Tilley’s 1920 adaptation of The Return of the Native came to light, which Tim Laycock re-worked for a contemporary audience. The play, which showed at four venues throughout Dorset, including the home of Julian and Emma Fellowes – the patrons of the New Hardy Players – raised nearly £3000 for Norrie’s chosen charity: Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.
The New Hardy Players 