About Us
The Redditch Operatic Society, also known as ROS, was re-formed in 1959 and has staged at least one major musical theatrical production each year since the first one was performed in early 1960.
The Society is affiliated to the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA), and are members of the Redditch Arts Council.
We usually meet on Tuesday evenings for full company rehearsals, and principal rehearsals are generally on Thursdays.
In our Constitution, we have two main objectives:
a) To educate the public in the operatic and dramatic arts, to further the development of public appreciation and taste in the said arts and to assist and further such charitable institutions or charitable purposes as the Society shall from time to time determine.
b) In furtherance of the above objects, to promote the production of operatic and dramatic works having an educative value and also to do all such other lawful things as shall be conducive to the attainment of the said objects.
Theatrical Productions
The Palace Theatre, Redditch.
Since 1971 our major theatrical productions have been staged at the delightfully refurbished Edwardian-built Palace Theatre in Redditch. In more recent years we have tended towards the American type of musical comedy, although the occasional foray into operetta is not unknown.
Each year we stage a major Autumn production at the theatre, usually in the second or third week of November.
The budget for these shows is rising towards the £25,000 mark - not an inconsiderable amount, especially when the maximum audience for a six-performance run is just over 2,400 people. Nevertheless, we always aim for the highest possible standards in terms of acting, scenery, costumes and music. In particular, we never compromise on our orchestras - bringing together professional musicians to play for us under the direction of Norma Kift, our Musical Director since 1989.
The Society is lucky to have many talented performers of all ages. Indeed, most roles in a show, especially the female parts, could be cast many times over. We are also known for the quality of our chorus, which often numbers thirty or more for a show. We are also blessed with a number of talented younger performers - something we are particularly keen to encourage.
You can read about our previous productions, including cast lists, reviews and photographs on our Past Shows page.
Spring Concert Tours
'Legends' - our concert tour in 2001
From 1994 to 2007 we performed a Concert Tour most years, during the Spring. These popular events were held at different venues in towns in our area. Redditch, Alcester, Cookhill, Studley, Bromsgrove, Droitwich, Henley in Arden, Hanbury and Rubery were amongst the places we have visited. The concerts were usually performed on two or three consecutive weekends in May.
The venues, often local churches or other organisations, hosted the concerts by providing the room and jointly selling the tickets with us. The Society organised everything else. The profits from the concerts went to the fund-raising appeals of the hosting venues.
In May 1994 we tested the water by performing our first concert at four venues. The show didn't have a name (just being called 'A Spring Concert') and featured songs from operetta favourites, west end shows and songs of the season. In 1996 we staged our second tour, at three venues, called 'A Grand Night For Singing', this time based on the music of Richard Rogers.
In 1997 our tours truly got into their stride, with a six-performance formula that was followed for the next five years. 'The Wonderful West End' was an evening of songs from British hit shows, and was an extremely popular concert, both in terms of musical content and audience numbers.
In 1998 we followed up with 'Broadway Melodies' which featured songs from American musicals. The concert for 1999 was called 'Hooray For Hollywood', and featured music from the movies. Our concert tour in 2000 was entitled 'Songs Of The Century', and was a musical journey through the decades of the 20th Century - this became our biggest and most popular concert tour ever. Our 2001 tour was called 'Legends', and featured the music from some of the best loved performers of the past fifty years.
We then had a break for three years, but came back with a bang in May 2004 with 'The Magic of the Night' based on the musicals of Cameron Mackintosh. As a departure from the norm, this tour featured our first Sunday 'tea time' concert, an idea which proved very popular with our audience, and which was continue in the following years. The concert itself went down a storm!
Our 2005 show was called 'A Night At The Movies', which featured a selection of favourites from the silver screen including Disney, James Bond, Sister Act, Forrest Gump and MGM Golden Oldies amongst many others.
Our last tour was in May 2007, with a show called 'Our Favourite Sings', which was full of our own favourite songs from concerts and shows over the years, plus one or two new pieces. This was one of the strongest programmes of any concert, with so many audience-pleasers!
Our Spring Concerts are on 'hiatus' at the moment, but we may return to them some time in the future.
Charity Donations
Jean and Alan Leadbeater present sporting equipment to Special Olympics, Redditch.
One of the Society's objectives is 'to assist and further such charitable institutions or charitable purposes as the Society shall from time to time determine', and we are extremely proud of our support of local good causes.
In fact, in the past two decades alone, the Society has generated over £26,000 in donations to individual appeals or from the profits of our concert tours.
Specific donations include the following:
- £250 for sporting equipment for Special Olympics Redditch in September 2009.
- £50 donated to Wythall Animal Sanctuary in memory of John Emms in September 2009.
- £50 donated to League of Friends (Alexandra Hospital) in memory of Margaret Rea in September 2009.
- £50 donated to Primrose Hospice/Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of Mavis Yates in March 2009.
- £50 donated to Birmingham Children's Hospital in support of Rafe Walker in March 2009.
- £100 donated to A Room For Tilly appeal in February 2009.
- £100 donated to Jennifer Trust for SMA in sponsorship of John Lovell in August 2008.
- £100 donated to County Air Ambulance in sponsorship of Ron Munro in June 2008.
- A piano stool donated to the Palace Theatre, in memory of David Duffin in February 2008.
- £100 donated to St Peter's Church, Coughton, in memory of Jim McCalman in June 2007.
- £2337 raised through our 2007 spring concert tour.
- £200 donated to Macmillan Nurses and County Air Ambulance in memory of David Duffin in 2007.
- £100 donated to the British Heart Foundation in memory of John Hall in October 2005.
- £2399 raised through our 2005 spring concert tour.
- £50 donated to the Cookhill Village Hall Rebuild Fund in December 2004.
- £100 donated to the Helping Hands Appeal in October 2004.
- £2443 raised through our 2004 spring concert tour.
- £100 donated to the Primrose Hospice in memory of Dr Dennis Brazil in April 2004.
- £150 donated to the County Air Ambulance service in December 2003.
- £2339 raised through our 2001 spring concert tour.
- £2856 raised through our 2000 spring concert tour.
- £100 donated to the Guillain-Barre Syndrome Appeal fund in November 1999.
- A bench donated to the Bowood Nursing Home in Redditch, in September 1999.
- £500 for medical equipment in memory of our President Norman Wheeler, June 1999.
- £2156 raised through our 1999 spring concert tour.
- £2160 raised through our 1998 spring concert tour.
- £250 donated to the Paul Cook Appeal (paralysed in a car accident) in 1997.
- £2310 raised through our 1997 spring concert tour.
- £653 raised through our 1996 spring concert tour.
- £100 donated to the NODA Conference in March 1996.
- £200 donated to the Astwood Bank Park Appeal fund in 1995.
- £500 donated to the BABA Appeal (two local children with Cerebral Palsy) in 1995.
- £1001 raised through our 1994 spring concert tour.
- £55 donated in memory of long time member Tony Carr in January 1994.
- £100 donated in memory of long time member Roland Coles in March 1992.
- £1000 donated to the Primrose Hospice, Bromsgrove in November 1990.
- £1000 donated to 'Operation Alex' at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
