ABOUT BADDESLEY AMATEUR THEATRICAL SOCIETY

BATS is a thriving amateur theatrical group based in the small village of Baddesley Ensor in North Warwickshire. Here’s a brief summary of how it all started ...

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Baddesley Ensor Village Hall was opened in 1987 as a multi-use hall, after a long campaign of fund raising. The Village Hall Committee continued to work to raise money following the opening, in order to purchase furniture, fittings and sports

equipment.

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A few members of that committee decided to try to put on a show as part of this fundraising effort. A local teacher had written a musical entitled “ Sherlock Holmes and

the Case of Little Change”. It was agreed to stage this over three nights at the Hall,with a number of villagers volunteering to take on the various roles, on stage and

behind the scenes.

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The show was a huge success, with the Hall packed with over 200 people on three nights. Buoyed by this success, and with a new liking for ‘the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd’, further shows were planned and produced.

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And thus the Baddesley Amateur Theatrical Society – BATS - was born!

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Over the years, different personalities joined the group, made a valuable contribution and, eventually, left but there was always a core of members who stayed...for over thirty years!

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The group has had its ups and downs, with a few lean years with no productions. But as experience grew and new talented members joined, equipment and staging

was improved and now BATS has become a force to be reckoned with in local amateur theatre. The group is recognised in the area for producing high quality drama; although always on a lighter note to keep audiences amused!