Southwick Players celebrated another year of spectacular theatre with the 2026 Sposcars, our annual awards evening held at the Barn Theatre. With over 70 members and guests attending, the room was filled with glamour, laughter and a real sense of celebration, as everyone dressed to the nines for the occasion.

President Debbie Creissen opened the event and introduced our compère for the evening, the brilliant and ever-entertaining H Reeves, whose sharp wit and impeccable comic timing kept the laughter flowing throughout the night. Guests enjoyed welcome drinks, a delicious two-course meal, a raffle, and entertainment from vocalist Richard Clements, which even got some of us up dancing later in the evening.

A huge thank you goes to Amy Bowyer and her team for organising such a fantastic event. Special thanks also to the tech crew — Martin Oakley, Ben Manning and Jeff Woodford for the fabulous audio-visual presentation and stage lighting, and to everyone else who contributed to making it such a memorable night.

The Sposcars remain one of the highlights of the Southwick Players’ calendar — a chance to celebrate our productions, our members and the wonderful community spirit that makes the group so special.

The winners are as follows:

Voted by the Committee:

‘Smudge’ Roberts Award for Best Technical/Creative Achievement – Dean Common

Voted by the Membership:

Players’ Player – Amanda Reeves

Voted by our panel of judges – Sue Gullen, Suse Crosby, Elaine Hammond and Bob Ryder:

Best Cameo – H Reeves as The Neighbour in The Unfriend

Best Supporting Actor (Male) – Guy Steddon as Pato Dooley in The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Best Supporting Actor (Female) – Ellie Mason as Angela in Abigail’s Party

Best Actor (Male) – Mark Best as Peter in The Unfriend

Best Actor (Female) – Debbie Creissen as Mag Folan and Jacqueline Jordan as Maureen Folan in The Beauty Queen of Leenane (joint award)

Best Director – Richard Lindfield for Great Expectations

Best Production – Director Nettie Sheridan and the entire company — cast, creatives and technical team — for The Beauty Queen of Leenane

Congratulations to all our winners and nominees, and to everyone involved in another wonderful year of theatre at Southwick Players