In 1996 Hartley WIGS (Women’s Institute choir and Guest Singers) became an independent society when the WI decided they no longer wished to run the show. The society members knew they wanted to continue so under the new name of Hartley G&S Society their first production in May of 1996, The Mikado was performed.
The society continued as it had done so before putting on a production every May in Hartley Village Hall. In the autumn of 2001 the society held their first Gilbert and Sullivan from scratch charity concert, where singers come together and spend a day rehearsing one of the Savoy Operas for a concert performance with narration in the evening. The Mikado from Scratch proved very successful and the event has become a regular part of the Hartley G&S calendar.
Rehearsal Information
Workshops begin in late November, early December with a break over Christmas.
Rehearsals start in January and are held on Tuesday evenings from 8pm – 10pm at Hartley Village Hall, Ash Road, DA3 8EL until the shows performance in mid May.
The weekend before the show, starting on the Friday late afternoon/evening, is spent preparing the hall & starting the set build. Set building and decorating continue on the Saturday, with all help gratefully received. Sunday we have a technical run of the show and then again with costumes. Tuesday is full “run as show” dress rehearsal before performances start on the Wednesday and finish on the Saturday. After the final show there is an after show party to celebrate all our hard work! But alas! It doesn’t quite end there as Sunday morning it’s back to the Hall to strike the set and return the hall to it’s usual state. Everybody is required for this as many hands make light work!
Rehearsals are always great fun and the week of the show, whilst exhausting, is always fantastic.
New members are always welcome and you don’t need to be a performer to be involved. Maybe your talents lie elswhere behind the scenes, or perhaps you’re handy with a hammer, saw, screwdriver or drill! Don’t mind painting? come along and help with the set build! Always a pleasure to have some extra hands during the interval to pass round drinks, if you’d rather help that way. There are so many ways to get involved so please come along or get in touch.
Current Committee
Chairman -Richard Gregg
Vice Chairman – Janice Redway
Secretary – Wendy Stuckey
Treasurer – Alan Gooch
Katherine Arnold
Shirley O’Dam
Hartley Gilbert and Sullivan Society 