Members Area
Members Area
Gerald Eyers (Left) accepts the Pat Hudson Trophy from Philip de Glanville
At this year’s SGD AGM, Gerald Eyers was the proud recipient of the Sybil Thorndike Trophy, awarded annually to a person, or amateur group, who the Committee considers has made a significant contribution to amateur theatre in Somerset during the previous year. In making the presentation, outgoing SFD Chairman Philip de Glanville said, “In the past we have often honoured SFD Committee members and competition panel members in recognition of the enormous amount of work they put in to keep the SFD wheels turning. This year’s winner however is a mainstay of one of our Member Groups, and from the SFD’s point of view very much an unsung hero.”
Philip went on to tell how he had spoken to others to help inform his decision on who the award should go to. “When Gerald’s name was put forward I approached Richard Wright, a much admired, some would say revered, adjudicator and then Moderator of the David Beach Competition in the early days and himself a previous recipient of the Sybil Thorndike Trophy in 2008. ‘Oh my gosh’, he said immediately, ‘much, much more worthy of the award than I ever was.'”
Gerald started out as a teenager with Barnstormers in Minehead, along with his brother, Ray. Ray stayed in Minehead and has remained active on the amateur theatre scene, but Gerald moved to Wells more than 30 years ago and has been involved with the Little Theatre ever since, acting, directing, and doing every job on the committee – some of them more than once. A past Chairman and now current Secretary, he says modestly it is just that he has been around so much longer than everyone else!
Gerald is definitely not one to blow his own trumpet, but he did let slip that he will be playing the dame again this year in the Little Theatre’s panto The Three Musketeers – an original script by Vicky Orman.
Philip said,” I am delighted that he has come along this afternoon to accept the Sybil Thorndike Trophy.”
In accepting the trophy Gerald said his achievements were very much about teamwork and that he could not have done what he has done without huge contributions from others.