Back to 1930

The BBC’s second adaptation of E. F. Benson’s Mapp & Lucia books is being produced in the streets of Rye through the summer. Whole streets have been been given a 1930 make-over and turned into film sets. E. F. Benson was Mayor of Rye for three years from 1934. He wrote the Mapp & Lucia stories while living in Continue reading Back to 1930

Rye Players Present Mapp & Lucia

Make Way for Lucia The Rye Players 29/10/2009

As all devotees of Jane Austin et al know, and usually to their chagrin, an adaptation be it for play, for film, or for an extended television series, is almost calculated never to please – so you can, I’m sure understand, as I am Chair of the E F Benson Society, how heavy my metaphoric chain of office felt as I took my place in the Rye Community Centre on Thursday evening. John Van Druten’s play is a bit of a cut-and-paste job, cherry-picking incidents from the Mapp and Lucia books and handing them out to a cut down selection of the characters from the books. The play stands or falls by its Lucia – and this production stands tall. Continue reading Rye Players Present Mapp & Lucia

Make Way for Lucia

After the triumphant sell-out success of ‘Allo ‘Allo! in July, the Rye Players’ Autumn production is Make Way for Lucia by John van Druten. This is a particularly appropriate production for the Society, as the play takes incidents from the novels concerning Mapp and Lucia written by E. F. Benson which are set in a fictional Rye, re-named Tilling, and weaves them together to form a flavour of the novel. Continue reading Make Way for Lucia

Cycling the Rye Harbour Tramway

by Peter Etherden

Despite the assurances in the October 2005 issue of Rye’s Own that all was well in this best of all possible (Bexhill and Lewes administered) worlds, permit me to express my continued scepticism that a cycle path will be constructed between Rye and Rye Harbour by the end of March 2006 or indeed in any foreseeable future. Continue reading Cycling the Rye Harbour Tramway