Knowle Operatic Society
A Brief History
by
Peter Derrington
First known as the ‘Knowle Operatic & Musical Society’, it was founded in 1962. A notice was posted on the tree in front of the Guild House and in response, 35 people gathered in the committee room of the Village Hall on the 29th January and the society was born. Horace Everitt – the ‘Squire of Knowle’ – was invited to be the first President and Marjorie Blackburn, a renowned concert pianist and whose idea it was, became the first chairman.
In common with many amateur operatic societies, its staple diet was the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan and these were staged in the Village Hall. Rehearsals were held in the Womens’ Institute Headquarters, colloquially and affectionately known as ‘The Hut’. The opening night of the first production – ‘The Mikado’ – on November 22nd 1962 saw cast and audience decimated by dense fog (remember those old pea-soupers?) and curtain-up was considerably delayed.
Apart from occasional concert performances of works such as ‘Rigoletto’, it continued staging G & S (even taking a show on the road to Moseley!) until 1975 when Judeen Clarke, taking time out from the Knowle ‘Revels’ Drama Group, produced ‘Brigadoon’ in October. In 1977, the society made the bold, successful but at the time controversial move to the Library Theatre in Solihull and was only the second amateur society to perform there and has performed there ever since. Until recently, it produced 2 shows a year but now only presents a major show once a year in March, returning to Knowle in the Autumn to give concerts, an event much appreciated by those who find access to the Library Theatre too difficult.
The best seats for that first performance cost 5 shillings (that’s 25p) and OAPs as they were then, paid half a crown. Turnover for the early was about £350 – its now approaching £20,000. Throughout its history, the society has made regular and sometimes not inconsiderable donations to various charities, beginning by giving 3 guineas to the British Empire Cancer Campaign in 1962.
May 2003
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