Though not quite the oldest amateur theatrical society in the country (debate rages over who is!) TWODS’ history compares impressively with our very few contemporaries. Formed in 1889 as the Tunbridge Wells Dramatic and Musical Society, our forebear’s first production was of two plays, “A Blighted Being” and “My Preserver”, which were performed on a stage built by the actors themselves at the Gymnasium in Calverley Road. A large variety of straight plays followed at The Great Hall whilst the Tunbridge Wells Operatic Society, formed in 1890, began staging more musical shows at that same venue. One of the earliest productions was Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance”, a show that has been revisited no less than six times during the society’s long history.
Another Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “The Mikado”, was presented in 1904 when the Dramatic and Musical Society found a new home at the newly-built Opera House and “The Gondoliers” became the first performance credited to Tunbridge Wells Operatic and Dramatic Society after the two groups merged in 1911. The Society’s activities were understandably interrupted by The First World War but by 1922 they had returned with “The Mikado” and presented “Iolanthe” and “The Geisha” the following year. This musical comedy by Sidney Jones, Owen Hall, and Harry Greenbank was an extremely popular show at the time having enjoyed the second longest run of any musical at Daly’s Theatre in London’s West End.

With the exception of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, many of the productions staged by the Society in these years will be largely unknown to modern theatre-goers. They were, though, well-loved at the time and had long professional runs in London and on Broadway before being a popular choice for amateur groups. “Florodora”, “Miss Hook Of Holland”, “The Quaker Girl”, “The Duchess of Dantzig”, “The Arcadians”, “The Belle of New York”, and “San Toy” all represented the most modern of stage shows when they were staged by the Society.
To understand the role of theatre in 1922, one has to consider the atmosphere of the period. Only four years earlier the country had come through its most bloody war when tens of thousands of British soldiers had lost their lives. There was radio but no television. In fact, it was in 1922 that the BBC was licensed to produce the first regular radio broadcasts. On a more fundamental level, people made their own entertainment in this era and visiting the theatre was very much an outing. Even until the 1950s and 60s, Saturday night audiences at amateur, as well as professional, shows would wear evening dress, the women adorned with furs and jewellery. Many would come just to watch the audiences go into the show and this was no less the case with the Operatic Society. To actually be part of the entertainers on stage was an honour and a privilege.
Throughout this period the society continued to raise funds for local charities and between 1922 and 1929 alone handed over £645. The equivalent of nearly £30,000 in modern terms, the beneficiaries included the General, Homeopathic, Eye & Ear Hospitals, the District Nursing Association, the Maternity Home, the Children’s Convalescent Home, the General Hospital Building Fund, the Open-Air School for Delicate Children of Tunbridge Wells, the Hurstleigh Toddlers, and the Invalid Children’s Aid. Twenty years before the founding of the National Health Service, these donations must have been well received. 1933’s chosen charity, The League Of Mercy, benefitted to the princely sum of £50, which is in excess of £3,500 in modern terms. Even way back in 1904 it was recorded that the Society had already presented £500 to various local charities.

In June 1939, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Tunbridge Wells as a borough and the opening of the Assembly Hall, the Society was invited to stage “The Pirates of Penzance” as the first show at this new venue. When war broke out once again, local societies could not function normally but TWODS certainly played its part in the war effort. Many of the leading members of the Society attached themselves to ENSA and performed in concert parties for the troops. The Society picked up when it left off when war ended, though, and staged Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers” at the end of 1945 with all the profits donated to the Homeopathic Hospital.

“The Gondoliers” was also the show chosen to mark the Society’s permanent move from The Opera House to the Assembly Hall in 1967. The Tunbridge Wells landmark had been the Society’s home for 63 years and hosted 85 of our productions but the building had primarily been a cinema for more than thirty years. The cinema had become increasingly uneconomic, though, and its owners planned to turn the venue into a bingo hall which would make it impossible to convert back into a theatre for TWODS productions. There were negotiations involving the Society to buy the venue but the required £48,000 could not be raised and the campaign to prevent the change of use was ultimately unsuccessful. The eventual conversion was further delayed by a dispute with the council but, by that time, TWODS had a new home: the Assembly Hall theatre. Fifty-four years later, we are very happy to still be there twice a year.

No-one can doubt the Society’s fondness for Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operas but the works of Rodgers & Hammerstein have also been performed with great regularity. To date, “Oklahoma!” has been staged on five occasions, “Carousel” four times, “The King And I” and “The Sound of Music” three times each and “South Pacific” twice. Lerner & Lowe’s musicals have also proved popular with five productions of “My Fair Lady” over the years, three of “Brigadoon”, two of “Camelot”, and a 1975 staging of “Paint Your Wagon”. Naturally, “Oliver!” and “Guys & Dolls” have also featured repeatedly in the Society’s repertoire whilst “The Merry Widow” and “Die Fledermaus” show that we have not forgotten our operatic roots.
Whilst celebrating its history, TWODS has always looked for something ‘new’ to present to Tunbridge Wells’ audiences. In 1961, the Society performed the South East premier of a new show called “The Boy Friend” and in 1997 presented the South East premier of the newly-released production of “Me & My Girl” just four years after the show ended its 3,303 performance-run at London’s Adelphi Theatre. We were proud to present “Mack & Mabel”, newly-released for the amateur stage, in November 2000 and performed the South East premier of “Evita” in 2002.

Complete list of shows:
1889 A Blighted Being and My Preserver
1890 The Pirates Of Penzance
1891 Dorothy
1892 H.M.S. Pinafore, Fra Diavolo, Penelope and
Cavalleria Rusticana
1893 Les Cloches De Corneville
1894 Yeomen Of The Guard and The Sorcerer
1895 The Bohemian Girl
1896 Cavalleria Rusticana
1897 Liberty Hall
1898 Ipsithilla, The Money Spinner and Les
Cloches De Corneville
1899 Strafford
1900 Diplomacy, The Magistrate and The Miser’s
Daughter
1901 The School For Scandal
1902 The Private Secretary and The Two Roses
1903 The Pickpocket and Paul’s Return
1904 The Mikado
1910 The Women Of Westminster
1911 Patience and The Gondoliers
1912 The Moon Of Carthage
1913 Iolanthe
1922 The Mikado
1923 Iolanthe and The Geisha
1924 The Gondoliers, Veronique and Patience
1925 Floradora and Miss Hook Of Holland
1926 The Rebel Maid and A Country Girl
1927 The Quaker Girl
1928 Our Miss Gibbs and The Toreador
1929 The Duchess Of Dantzig and The Arcadians
1930 Princess Charming and The Belle Of New York
1931 San Toy
1932 The High Road and H.M.S. Pinafore
1933 The Desert Song and The Middle Watch
1934 Rose Marie
1935 Rio Rita and Maid Of The Mountains
1936 Mr. Cinders and The Desert Song
1937 Hit The Deck and The Vagabond King
1938 Chu Chin Chow and Sunny
1939 Good-Night Vienna and The Pirates Of
Penzance
1940 No! No! Nanette
1942 The Middle Watch
1945 The Gondoliers
1946 Miss Hook Of Holland and Princess Charming
1947 Katinka and The Girl Friend
1948 The Mikado and Tom Jones
1949 Pride And Prejudice, Ruddigore and Rose
Marie
1950 The Rivals, Merrie England and The Student
Prince
1951 Quality Street, Iolanthe, Merrie England and
Bless The Bride
1952 This Happy Breed, Trial By Jury, H.M.S.
Pinafore and The New Moon
1953 And So To Bed, The Yeoman Of The Guard and
The Desert Song
1954 The Pirates of Penzance and Bitter Sweet
1955 The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Gondoliers and
Brigadoon
1956 Major Barbara, The Mikado and Oklahoma!
1957 Princess Ida and The Dancing Years
1958 Ruddigore and Annie Get Your Gun
1959 Bonaventure, The Vagabond King and The
Student Prince
1960 Bell, Book and Candle
1960 Iolanthe and Call Me Madam
1961 The Boy Friend and The Merry Widow
1962 Patience and Chu Chin Chow
1963 Waltz Time and Carousel
1964 The Mikado and South Pacific
1965 The King And I and Perchance to Dream
1966 Trial By Jury, H.M.S. Pinafore and Song of
Norway
1967 The Gondoliers and Show Boat
1968 Kismet and Kiss Me Kate
1969 Oklahoma! and The Yeoman Of The Guard
1970 No, No, Nanette and Camelot
1971 Iolanthe and My Fair Lady
1972 The Sound Of Music and King’s Rhapsody
1973 The Pirates Of Penzance, Trial By Jury and
Oliver!
1974 Die Fledermaus and Love From Judy
1975 The Merry Widow and Paint Your Wagon
1976 The Mikado and My Fair Lady
1977 Merrie England, Jubilee Showtime and The
King And I
1978 Ruddigore and Bitter Sweet
1979 Robert And Elizabeth and White Horse Inn
1980 The Gondoliers and The Sound Of Music
1981 The Yeomen Of The Guard and Rose Marie
1982 Oliver! and Orpheus In The Underworld
1983 Patience and Carousel
1984 Kiss Me Kate, No! No! Nanette and The
Bartered Bride
1985 Fiddler On The Roof, (The Life And Crimes
Of) Al Capone and Christopher Columbus
1986 Iolanthe and Oklahoma!
1987 The Mikado and Guys and Dolls
1988 The Pirates Of Penzance, Trial By Jury and The
King and I
1989 The Merry Widow, Centenary Serenade and The
Gondoliers
1990 Half A Sixpence and Mame
1991 Ruddigore and Die Fledermaus
1992 West Side Story and Showtime A-Z
1993 Oliver! and Carmen
1994 Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady
1995 Brigadoon and Showtime A-Z
1996 Broadway Pirates and Orpheus In The
Underworld
1997 Me & My Girl and Kiss Me Kate
1998 Fiddler On The Roof and Show Boat
1999 Camelot and The Merry Widow
2000 Carousel and Mack & Mabel
2001 The Mikado and Mad About Musicals
2002 Guys And Dolls and Evita
2003 Oklahoma! and Die Fledermaus
2004 Oliver! and Me & My Girl
2005 South Pacific and Mad About Musicals
2006 The Gondoliers and My Fair Lady
2007 Hello Dolly and The Best Little Whorehouse
In Texas
2008 Anything Goes and Crazy For You
2009 Fiddler On The Roof and Kiss Me Kate
2010 Singin’ In The Rain, G & S Gala and Half
A Sixpence
2011 Jesus Christ Superstar and Brigadoon
2012 42nd Street and Broadway Pirates
2013 The Sound Of Music and Oklahoma!
2014 Oliver! and The Merry Widow
2015 Sister Act and Sunset Boulevard
2016 Carousel and Guys And Dolls
2017 Annie Get Your Gun and My Fair Lady
2018 Grease and Hello Dolly
2019 Legally Blonde and Made In Dagenham