Add to favourites The Rattonians The Rattonians are a non-profit making group. They were founded in Eastbourne in 1984 by a small group of former pupils of Ratton school  and their drama teacher, Mark Adams. The aim was to stage a production with a real “West End” touch. A 24 hour play reading was held to raise money to fund a production in Eastbourne's smallest theatre, the Tivoli. This first show was a production of “The Boy Friend”. The rest is history. In 2009 The Rattonians celebrated their 25th anniversary with productions of “Just So” performed by the youth group at the Devonshire Park Theatre in the spring. The summer show, at the Congress Theatre, was Mel Brook’s Musical “The Producers”. This was staged by the senior company members. As if that wasn’t enough the complete company returned to the Congress Theatre at the end of November for a “Celebration of Song and Dance”. This lavish production featured a look back at the hits from every musical The Rattonians have performed over the previous 25 years, a couple of songs cleverly adapted lyrically to cover their history and the events of 2009 and with Christmas approaching a selection of festive hits. But it should not be forgotten that in addition to giving thousands and thousands of people performances, costumes and music that would match anything the West End can stage they have also raised many thousands of pounds for good causes. For the final event of 2009 the chosen charity was The Alzheimer’s Society just one of so many worthwhile charities The Rattonians have supported.  The hard work that is put into the Rattonians is clearly visible in every performance. From the youngest tiny-tot performer to the most senior Rattonian the commitment, the energy and the enthusiasm that is demonstrated is second to none. From Copacabana to Me and My Girl, from Mack and Mabel to Fame, year after year The Rattonians continue to provide professional entertainment at an outstanding price whilst always benefiting those less fortunate. Long may it continue. They have done Eastbourne proud, they have an outstanding reputation in the the theatre industry and they have created a huge number of extremely talented people. It is always interesting to note that despite all the ‘technically more famous’ acts I have featured both on this site and in my reviews “The Rattonians” has consistently been in the top search terms used to find my sites. The visits come from all over the world, not solely the UK. It seems this excellent theatrical group has become well known internationally.   A preview of The Rattonians work The video below was created by Spotlight Imaging for their official website and to promote the company. Many other videos, all a great example of their work, are also available. I have gathered these together and you will find them in the Theatre TV Section of this site. With thanks to all at the Rattonians for their kind permission to use their material on this site. Thanks also to Tony Willer who’s photography is extensively featured in the galleries. The Rattonians Official web site rattonians.com   The Rattonians