Paul Foster
Paul made his first RDG appearance in 2009 when he played the Marshal of Salem in our memorable presentation of The Crucible. The following year he received a Best Actor nomination for the his 'agonised' performance in Teeth at the Elmbridge Festival. He followed that with a cameo performance in the festival winning production of An Englishman Abroad and a performance as the sanctimonious Thwackum in our lively production of Tom Jones. In 2011 his gifts for comedy were displayed in his very funny performance as the hapless falsie-fitter in Habeas Corpus followed by his appearance in the musical 42nd Street. Paul went on to win the Best Supporting Player Trophy at the 2012 Elmbridge Festival for his comedy performance in An Incident at the Border. Contrast came then with his appearance in Cold Comfort Farm and his multiple comic appearances in Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World for which he won the Best Supporting Actor award at Woking Drama Festival. 2013 saw Paul play the boozy photographer in When We Are Married which was followed by his seedy hotelier in the musical Crazy For You. The following year he returned to Yorkshire playing the irascible old dad in Alan Bennett's tragicomedy Enjoy and then on to Australia for his key role in Our Country's Good. 2015 saw Paul play a complex therapist in Seven Year Twitch. He then went on international journeys trying to keep up with his eccentric relation in Travels with MyAunt. He ended the year in two contrasting roles: an anarchic priest in Joe Orton's Funeral Games and a detective on our musical 9 to 5. Paul made a wonderfully stylish performance as Peachum in our lively 2016 production of The Beggar's Opera. In 2017 he played with great style the urbane ageing womaniser in For Services Rendered and ended the year playing Ralph Sheldrake in our hugely popular musical White Christmas. Paul brought all his engaging energy to his role as the National Trust representative in Alan Bennett's People while in our popular comedy Handbagged Paul played a variety of cameo roles with his performances as Geoffrey Howe and Dennis Thatcher being particularly memorable! He ended 2018 by playing the amusingly distressed theatre manager in Nell Gwynn. In Volpone his portrayal as the fiery Italian husband was just one of the many comic characters in that popular production. More comedy came in 2019 when Paul played with great relish the role of the brash, lustful George Pye in the comedy Humble Boy. He ended the year with his enjoyable appearance as the chief hoodlum in our lively presentation of Sister Act. In early 2000 Paul took on his first directing role with the group with the surreal comedy Bear Hug but because of the COVID pandemic was nor staged until 18 months at the Maidenhead Drama Festival where it garnered three awards including that for the Best Comedy. In The Beaux Stratagem, our first major production for two years, Paul have another lively performance as the florid country inn-keeper. In 2022 Paul gave two hugely contrasting but equally successful performances - firstly as the blind irascible Irishman in The Seafarer which was followed by his touching sensitive performance in the the title role in Uncle Vanya. Later in the year a change of style came when he appeared as the Mayor in Chess
In 2023 Paul directed his first full length play for the group his choice being Under Milk Wood. With a cast of more than twenty playing more than fifty characters and played in the intimate Riverhouse this was a huge challenge but Paul answered those demands in a popular heartwarming production. In contrast his successful next production in 2024 was the intense and haunting presentation of the Irish play The Weir