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Tynemouth Gilbert and
Sullivan Society |
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We are an amateur musical company based in the historic seaside town of Tynemouth on the northeast coast of England. The society has approximately 40 members who are brought together by a common appreciation of the works of WS Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. |
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Our society began as The Memorial Methodist Church Young People's Fellowship Choir (!) back in 1948. In 1960, the society's name changed to our present shorter title 'Tynemouth Gilbert and Sullivan Society'. In the early years, performances took place in local church halls until the mid-60's when we moved to the Tynemouth Repertory Theatre Plaza. Shortly after that, in 1970, we transferred to Whitley Bay Playhouse where we continued to perform until 1998, after which we returned to Tynemouth, playing at the Priory Theatre. Since then, we have performed at Whitley Bay Playhouse and Tynemouth Priory Theatre. We celebrated our golden anniversary in 1998 and are planning our diamond anniversary celebrations. Please visit our society's archives, where you will find some photographic gems and reviews of our shows. |
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Each year, in June, we stage a costumed production of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, performed with full orchestral accompaniment in a local theatre. Details of our next production can be found by following this link. In future years, we hope to include less well-known works by Gilbert and Sullivan in collaboration with other composers and librettists, and hope to venture into operas by other composers. At the end of the year, we perform a Christmas concert of carols and other music. In recent years, the themes of the concert have included 'Christmas, with love', 'Christmas through the ages', 'An international Christmas', and centenary concerts for Sir Arthur Sullivan and Queen Victoria. In previous years, we have collaborated with other societies in gala concerts. In 1997, in collaboration with Gosforth URC Gilbert and Sullivan Society, we gave a concert performance of Merrie England (by Edward German) featuring Yvonne Patrick, Andrew Forbes-Lane, Patricia Leonard and others. Click here for information about our past productions and concerts. |
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We are always keen to welcome new members to our society. We currently have members ranging from 11 to 80 years of age. We have regular social events throughout the year, including ten-pin bowling, cheese and wine parties, barbecues, and wine-tasting parties. In 2005, we held an archive party where current and past members of the society came to share their memorabilia and experiences of the society. You don't need to have much stage experience to join us as a full member. If you haven't had any singing experience, we do ask you to do a brief singing audition for us. We start rehearsals in January for our show in June. Rehearsals take place at St. Aidan's Church Hall, Lynn Road, North Shields every Tuesday evening. Principal rehearsals are on Thursday evenings. If you do not wish to join us for our productions, you can join as an associate member and take part in our Christmas concerts. We usually start rehearsing in September and our concert takes place in early December. Rehearsals are also at St Aidan's Church Hall and they take place on Tuesday evenings. For further details about joining the society, please contact our membership secretary. If you wish to become a patron, for a nominal sum of £3.00, you will receive the following benefits:
To become a patron, please contact our patronage secretary |
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