Wednesday afternoon (November 30) saw thespians from the Get Changed Theatre Company gather outside the Ockment Centre Hall to receive a cheque from Okehampton Mayor Bob Tolley.

The drama group, which caters for adults with learning disabilities, celebrated as Cllr Tolley handed over a cheque on behalf of the town council, for £300 to go towards staging future productions.

Sunita Chauhan, administrator for Get Changed Theatre, said: ‘We are always seeking grants to try and expand what we do and the more money we have the bigger the production so the wilder the costumes and props can be.

‘So this money for us we’ve already done a show in October on the 28th, which was brilliant, but it was a very small show. So we’ll be putting this money towards our next show early next year, hopefully April or May time.

‘Obviously the costs escalate but the experience for artists is just better. We have to be mindful of ticket costs and make sure that we’re not excluding people but also making the experience for artists the absolute best it can be - we are first and foremost drama group, so all these funds that we apply for are very gratefully received.’

Having recently performed a Halloween-themed play, the drama group decided not to put on a Christmas production this year in order to focus on its big show this coming spring.

Instead, the enthusiastic group will enjoy a Christmas party due to take place soon.

Get Changed was established in 1995 as a drama organisation for adults with learning disabilities in order to raise awareness of the challenges faced by people with such disabilities and break the stigma surrounding them.

Based in Okehampton, the charity aims to produce high quality drama productions to build confidence, improve mental healt, increase self-esteem and develop skills.

The group put on several shows throughout the year with all the productions exclusively written for the drama group and taking into account all the actors’ ideas in ordeer to create a unique performance.

Sunita added: ‘We meet every week and it’s just great fun. All the workshops are building on the actors’ skills and usually their ideas start to formulate quite early and Jules and Penny (creative directors) and the inspiring arts team then shaping into the next production who knows where it will take. We’re trying to aspire to great heights.’