ABOUT

In August 1921 a group of actors led by George Vivian called themselves the Barre Players. They staged a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring performers from town as well as New York City.  On New Year’s Eve of that year, the group formally organized.  Through the 1920s and 1930s, they regularly performed in Williams Hall, which was next to the present Historical Society building, one block north of our current theater.

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George Vivian grew up in England and came to the US with a well-known troupe of Shakespearean actors – the Ben Greet Theater Company.  He later toured around New England and throughout the country with his siblings in the Vivian Players.  He was noted to have played Puck 1,987 times and was invited to perform at the White House for Theodore Roosevelt.  In the 1920s, he shared a summer home with his wife Bertha in Barre.  He regularly produced a  Shakespeare play during these summers and cast his fellow New York actors as the leads.  Mr. Vivian left Barre in the 1930s.  He went on to become a founding member of the Olney Theater in Washington, D.C., where he became a mentor and instructor for up and coming young actors, including Henry Fonda and Spencer Tracy. 

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With his departure, interest in the Barre Players gradually waned. By the end of the decade, the club became inactive.

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In the mid 1950s, Reverend Robert S. Illingsworth of the Barre Congregational Church brought new life to theater in Barre and revitalized the organization. This began as a church drama group, but quickly expanded to include other local thespians. By the 1960s, membership outgrew the church hall and officially became a community organization in residence at the Barre Town Hall.  

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At the Town Hall, the Players regularly produced two shows a year.  By the end of the 1960s, the season expanded to include a Summer Youth Rep.  For most of a decade, this group of young actors performed 3 to 4 shows each summer, including Shakespeare and dramas like The Children’s Hour and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  It was led and managed by the children of the Barre Players board, including George Vivian’s great grandchildren. 

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The 1980s were a literal “trial by fire” for the Barre Players. In January 1981 a devastating fire swept through Barre’s Town Hall, causing severe damage to the historic structure. In the tradition of “the show must go on”, the Players continued with an abbreviated production schedule, using school auditoriums and church halls for their performances until they returned to the newly restored Town Hall in the spring of 1983. Later in the decade the Players lost all of their sets and properties when the barn used for storage was leveled by fire. 

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In 1992, Barre Players officially incorporated.  The following year the Barre Players purchased the former Methodist Church at 64 Common Street, making the Barre Players Theater a reality.  With these significant changes, the production schedule increased to a regular season of 4-5 plays a year.  This included reviving the tradition of Barre Summer Youth Theater.  With this larger space, Barre Players was able to produce new works, musicals, and in 1996 there was a 75th anniversary celebration of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.​​​​

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​That regular season has brought us into the 21st century.  After a shutdown due to COVID in 2020, we are finding renewed momentum and a commitment to create theater and friendships and community much like those first summer Shakespeare plays in the 1920s.  As we enter our next century, we continue to welcome new members and audience to enjoy a comedy or drama or mystery or musical in our seats.  We hope you will be part of that.