About NODA — and Why We're Members
The National Operatic and Dramatic Association: supporting amateur theatre since 1899.
The Torrington Players are proud members of NODA — the National Operatic and Dramatic Association — the UK's largest body representing amateur theatre. Founded in 1899, NODA supports over 2,500 member societies across the country, providing guidance, resources, training, and a community of shared purpose for groups just like ours.
NODA is organised into regional districts, and the Players belong to the South-West region. Each year, productions staged by member societies can be visited by a trained NODA adjudicator, who watches the show as a member of the audience and produces a written report — honest, constructive, and often deeply encouraging. These reports are one of the most valuable tools an amateur company has for understanding how its work is received and how it can grow.
What NODA Membership Means for Us
Being part of NODA connects the Torrington Players to a much wider world of amateur theatre. It gives us access to play licensing guidance, insurance advice, technical resources, and a network of fellow societies across the region. It also means our work is seen, assessed, and celebrated in a meaningful way — not just by local audiences, but by people who know what good amateur theatre looks like.
Each year, NODA recognises outstanding achievement across its regions through a programme of awards. These aren't handed out lightly — they represent genuine excellence, judged against the full range of amateur theatre being produced across the South-West.
Our NODA Awards
Over the years, the Torrington Players have been honoured with several NODA awards — each one a source of enormous pride for the company and recognition of the dedication and talent of everyone involved.
In 1994, Oh! What a Lovely War earned two awards: the NODA Regional Award for Excellence and the Stage Electrics Trophy for Technical Achievement — recognising both the artistic quality of the production and the exceptional technical work that supported it.
Female Transport, the powerful drama set aboard a convict transport ship, was similarly honoured with a NODA Award for Best Set Design — testament to the extraordinary work of the company's technical and design team in creating the ship's interior that put audiences right inside the hold.
In 2003, Talking Heads — Alan Bennett's four classic monologues — was performed at the Plough Arts Centre and toured to outlying villages across North Devon. A special performance was staged in 2004 at the Plough in aid of the Mayor's Appeal, and it was this production that earned the Players the NODA Regional Award for Excellence for 2005. The adjudicator's verdict was unambiguous: "The abundance of talent within the Players never fails to amaze me."
Most recently, A Wife for All Reasons — an original work by company member Stephanie Easton, comprising six monologues each giving voice to a different wife of Henry VIII — received a NODA Certificate of Excellence, performed at Torrington Town Hall. That an original script by one of our own members should earn national recognition speaks volumes about the creative ambition alive within this company. [DATE TO CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLISHING]
The Bigger Picture
Awards matter — but what they represent matters more. Each NODA recognition is an acknowledgement that a small community theatre company in North Devon, run entirely by volunteers, is producing work of a standard that stands comparison with the best amateur theatre in the country. That is something every member of the Torrington Players — past and present — can be proud of.