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Penny Plain is a new and unique theatre company based in Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. We specialise in researching and dramatising historical tales and legends drawn from our local heritage.
In these days of wall to wall entertainment this legacy is threatened with extinction. Penny Plain want to keep that legacy alive.
The Company tours the Dales and beyond with its purpose-built replica of a Victorian theatre booth, kindly funded by 'Awards for All', in the guise of a hapless troupe of down and out players: Malvolio Hardcastle's 'Mighty Excelsior Theatre.
Although the themes of the plays are presented amid apparent chaos, they are thoroughly researched and as factually accurate as we can make them. Performing them requires a lot from the cast: each has to act a role in the character of one of Hardcastle's troupe. The farcical elements require skilful timing and a lot of teamwork.
The results are slick, strange and hilarious.
By the way, "Penny Plain" comes from the phrase "Penny plain, tu'pence coloured" referring to the model theatres popular in Victorian times.
