"Sand House" - the Play
Why a Sand House Play?
The team behind the ongoing promotion of Doncaster’s lost Victorian marvel, as a heritage and educational resource, believes that there are lots more people out there who would really enjoy finding out all about the Sand House and who would be amazed by it. In spite of the books, numerous newspaper articles, illustrated talks, radio interviews, exhibitions, television coverage and our online presence, we have only reached a fraction of our potential audience. A theatre play provided a way of reaching new people – and probably a different demographic – as well as telling the story in a way that was more accessible for many. Please take a look at our video, on the right. The play ran for five performances at Cast theatre, in Doncaster, in early June 2018. They included three sell-outs.
In 2024 we went on to produce an audio drama, adapted from the theatre play. Please see below.
The outcome
The play was a great success! These are just a few of the comments received from audience members:
“A complete and absolute triumph”
“Truly fabulous, so incredibly well written and performed”
“What a brilliant experience that was”
“This is quite possibly the best piece of theatre I have ever seen in CAST’s Second Space!”
Audio Drama
In order to bring the Sand House play to a much wider audience, it was decided to produce an audio drama, as an adaptation of the theatre play. This was recorded in August 2024, in the studios of Chapel FM, Leeds. It received its broadcast premiere on 1st December 2024. Following the broadcast, a recording of the drama has been made available to listen again. Click the button on the right to listen. The play is available on the Sand House YouTube channel and, in the near future, will be on podcast platforms.
The creative team was led by writer Peter Spafford and director Olwen May, who had put together the theatre play in 2018. They were joined by sound designer/composer Nicolas Lewis.