The Company of Seven

The genesis of the Company of Seven occurred in the Millicent Anglican Parish Hall on a cold evening of October 12th in 1949. The Reverend J.L.A. Price, being a recent immigrant from the British Isles was rather keen on increased social activities in the town. As an opening his gambit convinced some of the younger members of the parish to present, under his direction, A.A. Milne’s one act play “The Ugly Duckling“. This play had a cast of seven.

On the evening of the presentation there was much merriment during the dressing up and make up procedures. I recall donning a pair of ladies silk pajama pants (pink) and white silk stockings to simulate a courtly dress. Anyway the performance, before an audience of about thirty succeeded beyond our wildest expectations. On the technical side, a stage had been rigged at one end of the little hall out of trestle table tops, various boxes and a few ashlars of Mt.Gambier stone. By means of a piece of fencing wire tensioned between opposite window frames, a curtain was supported which moved freely. The lighting, which was very favorably commented upon, consisted of two small industrial floods placed either side of the stage, with 150 watt lamps shining down at the appropriate angle and a piece of timber supporting a row of 60 lamps, with reflectors made of jam tins to serve as foot lights.

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