Vagabond Players

The Vagabond Players were formed in 1937 with the production of a series of one act plays staged at St. Aidan's Church. The ten young men and women who charted the group picked the name "Vagabond Players" to avoid their being confused with the St. Aidan's youth group and, mainly, because they didn't have a permanent home for their productions. In 1950 the City of New Westminster furnished the Vagabond Players its current home where, in January 1951, the first production staged was Strange Bedfellows . During the past 75 years, Vagabond Players have staged such classics as Our Town, You Can't Take It With You , Move Over Mrs. Markham, and The Diary of Anne Frank, musicals such as Gentleman Prefer Blondes, HMS Pinafore, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off , and wonderful Christmas Pantomimes such as Sing A Song of Sixpence, Old King Cole and The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever . Many well known people in our community have trod the boards at our little theatre as well, such as Delores Kirkwood, Ed Harrington, Bruno Gerussi, Hilda Cliffe, and Bernie Legge. Even the famed Raymond Burr worked with the Vagabond Players back in November 1966, re-enacting the 1866 ceremony that linked the British Crown colonies of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Those were the days when the business community and the newspapers aggressively supported the club. Now, as then, funding is important to the survival of our club. Vagabond Players is not just a troupe that puts on plays. It is a learning center for people interested in becoming actors, directors, lighting or sound technicians, set designers, and costumers. It's also a place where aspiring writers can present their new work. In 1997 our playhouse was renamed THE BERNIE LEGGE THEATRE in honour of our beloved Bernie Legge who passed away that summer. Bernie was one of Vagabond's most venerated actors and New Westminster's most dedicated ambassador to the community for theatre arts.