In September 2025, This is Haslemere caught up with Ricky Dyer who is a Trustee of Haslemere Players.

Haslemere Players is a local charity and, according to its Charities Commission listing, its charitable objectives are:

“To educate the public in the dramatic and operatic arts and to further development of public appreciation and taste in the said arts.”

While primarily dedicated to producing high-quality musical theatre, the company functions as a non-profit and relies on community support, volunteers, donations, and fundraising to continue its artistic endeavours and community-building efforts.

Ricky is one of 6 trustees and has responsibility for marketing. He pulls together all the promotional material that feeds into social media, PR, promotions and printed materials in order to (in his words) “get the word out and put bums on seats”.

We asked Ricky how he got involved with Haslemere Players. Four years ago, post-pandemic, Ricky and his partner moved to Headley Down from London. They loved the area. They already had a business - The Pet Manny – in London and decided to extend their successful pet-sitting company to our corner of the world. Early in his career, Ricky had sung in chorus in the amateur circuit in London and decided he wanted to take up singing again. He soon discovered that Philip O’Brien’s Singing Studio was just around the corner, so he booked in for lessons. Philip encouraged Ricky to join the Haslemere Players a couple of years ago. They work on singing techniques and performance. It is hard work but, Ricky has not looked back. It is with a combination of Philip’s encouragement and practising like mad that Ricky has the confidence to sing solo parts on the stage for The Haslemere Players.

Since joining Haslemere Players, Ricky has made valuable friendships and, although relatively new to the area, he feels he is part of a wonderful community. This is a group that is powered by local volunteers. The charity has a main committee and sub-committee and there are approximately 40 volunteers working behind the scenes to keep the operation running: fundraising, set building, costumes, finance, admin, marketing etc. Historically, they have raised funds for local charities and will continue to do so once they have completed their own Project Studio 25 which is a £50,000 building project in their Haslemere Studio. The building needs much-needed maintenance and the group have been fundraising via sponsored walks, car boot sales, barn dances, ticket sales, and generous donors. Their central studio stores rails of costumes, shelves of accessories as well as paraphernalia and equipment to build sets.

In the entrance of The Studio, we walked past a partly constructed Rapunzel’s castle with Ricky laughing and announcing that he’ll soon be The Baker having to climb that castle and sing one of his solos. This is for their next production - Into The Woods - which will run from 28th October until 1st November in Haslemere Hall.

The Stephen Sondheim popular musical, Into The Woods, is a great ensemble piece, including Ricky as The Baker, and all the characters are recognisable from Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The Haslemere Players website indicates: “Into the Woods is what happens when all your favourite fairy tale characters get thrown into one story, make a bunch of questionable life choices, and then have to deal with the consequences. Think Grimm’s Fairy Tales meets group therapy… with songs.”

It will be co-directed by Jamie (Hughie) & Jessi O’Donnell with Lizzie Hales as Musical Director. Jessi is thrilled to be co-directing Into the Woods with her husband, Jamie (Hughie). A former Haslemere Players regular, she was discovered by Maria Friedman, leading to a UK tour and a West End debut in Stepping Out alongside Amanda Holden and others. Her credits include Urinetown (Waterloo Vaults), Wicked (ShenShen/Madame Morrible cover), and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. She recently toured with I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical, including a run at the Edinburgh Fringe and a performance at West End Live 2024. Hughie trained at RADA, winning the Carleton Hobbs Award and an Old Vic scholarship. Theatre includes King Lear (West End/New York) with Sir Kenneth Branagh. Screen credits include Fight or Flight (Sky), The Seven Dials Mystery (Netflix), and The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde. Radio for BBC includes Exit Game, Microserfs, and War of Words. He’s thrilled to be part of this production.

In the musical, one character we will hear in Haslemere (but won’t see on the stage) is The Giantess. This role will be voiced by TV quiz legend, Anne Hegerty aka Frosty Knickers. Ricky and Anne are former work colleagues and she is generously waiving her performance fee as she is happy to help The Haslemere Players with their fundraising for Project Studio 25.

To book tickets for Into The Woods, check out The Haslemere Hall website listing here.

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