About DCPA
Dorchester Community Plays Association (DCPA) is a community theatre organisation and a charity dedicated to bringing people together to create large-scale plays rooted in Dorchester’s history, stories, and local life.
We believe theatre is strongest when it is made collectively – by neighbours, families, newcomers, and long-time residents working alongside professional artists to tell stories that belong to this place.
Origins of community play in the UK
Community play as a concept was the brainchild of Ann Jellicoe (1927–2017), a pioneering British playwright and director who became a leading force in the modern community play movement. Ann’s large-scale production, The Reckoning, was her first community play, written for a local school in Lyme Regis, Dorset, and staged in 1978.
Having worked with schools to create large-scale productions, Jellicoe decided to open them up to parents, teachers, and then the wider community, bringing everyone together through theatre. In 1979, Ann Jellicoe founded the Colway Theatre Trust in Lyme Regis to develop the community play format further.
After several more productions, a group from Dorchester invited Jellicoe to help create their own. The result was Entertaining Strangers, performed in 1985 at St Mary’s Church in Dorchester. Co-directed by Ann Jellicoe and Jon Oram, and written by David Edgar, Entertaining Strangers is widely regarded as the first major community play in the UK, setting the standard for the modern community theatre movement.
Dorchester has since staged more community plays than anywhere else in the world, and the tradition continues to thrive today.
The Formation of DCPA
Dorchester Community Plays Association (DCPA) was founded in 1989 to protect, support, and continue the tradition of community plays in Dorchester.
Following the success of Entertraining Strangers, DCPA was established to ensure that the community plays in Dorchester could be developed responsibly and sustainably, with support, professional leadership, and open access for local people of all ages and backgrounds.
As a charity, DCPA exists to make participation possible for everyone, regardless of experience. We are committed to keeping the tradition inclusive, ambitious, and rooted in the town.
DCPA as a Charity and a Limited Company
Dorchester Community Plays Association (DCPA) is a registered charity (No. 1140952) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England (No. 07369993).
Registered office: 10 Old Coast Guard Cottages, Portland Bill, Portland, DT5 2JT.
The DCPA Chair: Elizabeth James
All trustees: Elizabeth James, David McGarel, Lucy Allen, Emma Hill, Marie-Christine Barsky, Thomas Archer, John Savage, Frances Sansom, John Butler, Ivana Jelinic.
DCPA Register of Charities | DCPA Limited Company | DCPA’s Annual Reports
Our work
DCPA’s work is about more than performance.
Community plays build confidence, friendships, skills, and a sense of belonging. They give people the chance to learn something new, meet others, and be part of a shared creative journey, often over many months.
Through theatre, we help people connect more deeply with Dorchester, with each other, and with the stories that shape our town.
DCPA today – A living history
DCPA’s history is not just a record of past productions – it is a living tradition.
Each play leaves behind more than memories of performances. It builds skills, confidence, friendships, and a shared sense of achievement. People who take part often return for future productions, passing on knowledge and experience to new participants.
In this way, every community play becomes part of Dorchester’s ongoing story – shaped by those who were there, and ready to be reimagined by the next generation.
We are currently working on our 8th Community Play! Read our latest News and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date.