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THIS BRIEF HISTORY OF HATTON OPERATIC SOCIETY WAS COMPILED BY RACHEL KEEGAN AS A PROGRAMME NOTE FOR THE SOCIETY'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY PRODUCTION OF 'BLITZ!' IN 1995 |
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"It was high summer. The blackout was down; honeysuckle and red roses were spilling their blossoms in the warm sunshine which added to the gaiety and happiness on V.J. Day 1945, when peace with Japan was officially announced. It was time for celebrations, and the folk living in Myrtle Avenue, Bedfont, Middlesex (which is next-door to the world-famous London Airport) decided they would like some entertainment. They would give a party at the end of the street" |
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So begins volume 1 of the Hatton Operatic Society scrapbooks (which now run to nine volumes). Since that day in 1945, over five hundred different people have taken part in eighty productions staged in the Feltham area (and latterly at Slough and Bracknell) |
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The first performance of the "Hatton Choral Society" (as it was first known) took place on a stage built of Morrison shelters and a lorry; the lighting came via lengths of flex draped from nearby houses. The show was directed by Kenneth Newell and the music was in the hands of pianist Joan Best (née Venton). Mr Newell was the Society’s resident producer until 1962 (when he moved away from the area) and Mrs Best was the Society’s rehearsal pianist for 25 years. |
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The success of this performance led to a series of concerts in the locality. Among the items in the programme were the Easter Hymn from "Cavalleria Rusticana" and "In A Monastery Garden" with the men dressed as monks wearing robes made from W.V.S. grey blankets and the ladies in nuns’ habits made from black-out curtains. |
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The first fully staged show to be produced by what had by now become the "Hatton Choral and Operatic Society" was "Blossom Time" (a now-forgotten musical romance by G H Clutsam) in June 1946. The venue for this was the Parish Hall, situated behind the Playhouse Theatre in Feltham High Street. The Playhouse Theatre itself became the Society’s home from 1950 to 1953 (the theatre was later used as a furniture warehouse and both buildings were demolished in 1993 to make way for a new Tesco Superstore). One of the disadvantages of the Playhouse was that the Parish Hall (about a hundred yards away) had to serve as the dressing rooms. During a downpour in "A Country Girl" (1952) a car shuttle service had to be run from the dressing rooms to the stage door. Despite the bad weather, the local paper reported that 2000 people attended this production. Another venue which was used for some of the early productions was Staines Town Hall. |
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"Blossom Time" required someone to provide and conduct an orchestra, and the services of cellist Reginald Curtis were enlisted. The principal mode of transport in those days was the bicycle (the acquisition of a car being regarded as a major event) and M.D. Reg was often to be seen cycling along Hatton Road with his music stand tied to the cross-bar. |
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None of the 28 performers in "Blossom Time" is still an active member of the Society (although Albert Underwood, who played the leading role of Schubert, is a Patron), but the next production ("Merrie England") saw the debut of Geraldine Hearson who will be celebrating her fiftieth anniversary with the Society next year (and she still rides her bike to rehearsals!). |
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An undoubted highlight of the early days was an open-air pageant version of "Merrie England" at Polesden Lacey (a place which few of the membershad heard of, let alone visited) in June 1949. It was estimated that well over 3000 people attended this production. |
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In 1954 the Society moved to the newly built Lafone School in Feltham (the scrapbook records that "we thought we had indeed reached Elysian heights in our career as an Operatic Society") and this became its home until the opening of Feltham Assembly Hall in 1965. 1956 saw the introduction of auditions for principal roles. Two years later the Society produced its first pantomime, "Dick Whittington". This was the beginning of a tradition which was to continue for the next twelve years, the pattern being an October show followed by a January pantomime . These early pantomimes were written and produced by members of the Society, and many of the principal roles were created for specific people. The music was chosen very much with the "operatic" in the Society’s name in mind and included such gems as the Pilgrims’ Chorus from "Tannhauser" and the Grand March from "Aida". The pantomime tradition was revived in 1982 (and continued until our last show at Feltham Assembly Hall in 1992) but the music chosen for these later pantomimes was more in keeping with present day tastes! |
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Accounts of the technical effects devised for the early productions make fascinating reading. In "Robin Hood" (1950) much rehearsal time was spent in Ken Newell’s garden firing at a nearby water tower with a special bow and arrow which he had invented. In "The Arcadians"(1957), it was originally intended that one of the characters should land on stage by parachute (a scheme that was eventually decided to be a little too risky). In the same show, a waterfall trickling real water from a pump was created. Unfortunately the grid keeping back the water collapsed on the last night and the scantily-clad Arcadians found themselves sitting in pools of icy cold water. In "Mother Goose" (1960) a cloud effect was produced from two fire buckets filled with a foam-producing substance, the men taking it in turn to lie on their tummies blowing the vapour out onto the stage. |
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Rather surprisingly, the Society did not tackle a Gilbert & Sullivan opera until 1966. This was "The Mikado" produced by Robin Aldworth (with Sylvia, our MD for "Blitz!", as Yum Yum) A more recent production of "The Mikado" (in 1989) received the National Operatic & Dramatic Association’s "Accolade of Excellence" (an accolade also awarded to our production of "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1993) |
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Reginald Curtis retired from the post of Musical Director in 1970 and became the Society’s President (a post from which he has just retired). During his period as MD he was in charge of the music for forty productions - a remarkable achievement. Since then we have had a succession of talented Musical Directors, some of whom have gone on to professional careers in music. A few former members have also taken the plunge into the somewhat precarious theatrical profession. Angela Jenkins, who took a number of principal roles in the 1950’s, has had a distinguished career both as a singer and a teacher. Our leading lady of the 1970’s-80’s, Catherine Françoise (McCarney), has appeared in a variety of shows ranging from "The Phantom of the Opera" to principal girl in pantomime with Ken Dodd. Baritone Peter James Robinson (recently appointed President of the Society) has appeared with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company and in a number of other productions (including a long run in "Evita") |
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In 1985 the Society’s 40th anniversary was celebrated with a production of "The Gondoliers". A photograph of the original street party was published in the local paper and a number of the participants were traced through a "where are they now" appeal and were our guests at the show. |
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In October 1989 the Society organised a "Singathon" at the Treaty Shopping Centre in Hounslow. We were joined by members of several other organisations (some from as far afield as Portsmouth) for twelve hours of non-stop music-making and a sum in the region of £12,000 was raised for the BBC’s "Children in Need" appeal. |
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The 1980’s had seen a marked improvement in the standard of the Society’s productions and a number of people felt that we should consider staging them in a purpose-built theatre, although at the same time there was a reluctance to leave Feltham Assembly Hall where we had built up such a loyal following. However in 1991 a substantial increase in the hire charges for the Assembly Hall prompted the Committee to investigate alternative venues, and thus we presented our June 1992 production of "Broadway Pirates" at the Planet Theatre, Slough before moving to Bracknell in 1993. However our rehearsals are still held a stone’s throw from Myrtle Avenue where it all started. |
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And so to the next fifty years........ |
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RACHEL KEEGAN |
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