Thank you for the Musicals – Easter 2023

Thank you for the Musicals – Easter 2023

RMDS is pleased to once again being performing at The Barn in Ringwood at Easter with a brand new format show incorporating songs from well known musicals, some performed by RMDS and some which we aspire to perform one day. Incorporating singing, dancing and some links to past shows of RMDS this show will have you leaving The Barn humming all those well known songs. We look forward to seeing you at Easter.

Tickets are now on sale in our online box office

Autumn Productions 2022

Autumn Productions 2022

RMDS is proud to announce our first productions in the exciting new Ringwood Venue, The Barn which we are pleased to be. major supporter of in continuation of our long association with Ringwood School. First, at the end of October will be our production of “How the Other Half Loves” by Alan Ayckbourn from 26th-28th October. Following this we are very pleased to bring The Soiree back to Ringwood from 15th-19th November. tickets for both of these productions are on sale so book now to avoid disappointment.

The Summer Show is back for 2022

The Summer Show is back for 2022

We know you’ve missed us, we’ve missed you too ……. The RMDS Summer Show is back for 2022!
We’re hoping that this year’s summer show will be the BIGGEST and BEST yet, so we’re really pleased to be inviting you to sign up for it now. Our three creative teams have already started planning their sections and unlike previous years, we’re inviting you to express a preference (if any) on which section you’d like to be in.
Dave & Cindy Wischusen will be setting the action on an aeroplane, which will be full of interesting characters and their differing approaches to life. The plane goes missing and the whole plot will centre around this
Yvonne Zaremski will be setting sail on a cruise ship, so climb aboard and come on a journey that is as much a part of the experience as the various destinations on the way…… but be careful not to “Rock the Boat”
Jemma Wright will be presenting a mash up of Phantom of the Opera, with Frankenstein and a bit of science Fiction thrown in for good measure!
Please get in touch with us via the contact form on the website or directly to Andy Steeds asteeds@aol.com who is coordinating the show this year. There will be an initial get together on Wed 13th April at St. John the Baptist Church Hall in Poulner at 8pm where new members can be auditioned and the final groups decided upon.
We’re particularly keen to attract new members and would remind you that anyone joining the Society for this year’s summer show will have their membership extended to September 2023 – meaning they could get 2 summer shows, an Autumn play and an Easter Musical for one year’s membership (which is only £40 for adults or £10 for under 25’s)
The show goes on behind the scenes

The show goes on behind the scenes

COVID-19 put a stop to local entertainment as well as virtually everything else, but Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society has still been doing its bit for the community during the pandemic. Despite having had to cancel its main Easter musical for two seasons running – along with plays, summer shows, choir concerts and the Ringwood Soiree – the society has still been able to give away £5,000 to a local charity.
With so many people losing livelihoods or with vulnerable people being unable to leave their homes during the COVID-19 crisis, RMDS decided to donate the £5,000 to the Trussell Trust’s hard working Ringwood Foodbank. Ringwood is a prosperous area, but there are still many local people who need support.
In the year from April 2020 to April 2021 the Ringwood Foodbank provided food for 3,238 people, according to its chair of trustees, Chris Lee. He was grateful for the RMDS donation – and the gifts of cash and food from other organisations and individuals – “We’ve been overwhelmed with people’s generosity,” he said. “Our community has been hugely supportive throughout this past year.”
As well as providing food for hungry families, the Foodbank had also recently adopted a fuel vouchers scheme for pre-payment meters to help those struggling to power their homes during the long, cold winter.
RMDS hopes to be able to re-start its calendar of musicals, plays and concerts later this year as the nation follows it road map out of lockdown and social distancing regulations are eased. The hit musical ‘Barnum’, which was cancelled just three weeks before it was due to run at Easter last year, was postponed again this year but the society hopes audiences will be able to return to the Ringwood School Theatre to see the show at Easter 2022.
For more information on Ringwood Foodbank visit ringwood.foodbank.org.uk
The Importance of Amateur Theatre

The Importance of Amateur Theatre

With the current and ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association has published a letter highlighting the importance of Amateur Theatre to the UK and a copy of this can be downloaded here. RMDS is fully committed to the support of our local community through amateur theatre and musical performances and wholeheartedly supports the aims of this letter and looks forward to getting back to performing as soon as we are able and it is safe to do.

 

NODA-Amatuer Theatre 2020
The show will go on – next year

The show will go on – next year

Coronavirus and the lockdown put paid to the Ringwood Musical & Dramatic Society production of Barnum, which would have been staged in April. Disappointed RMDS cast members, who’d been rehearsing since October last year, were told of the decision to call off the show when it became obvious that strict social distancing measures were about to be put in place in March. But in true ‘the show must go on’ spirit, and so the cast will still get the chance to show off their new-found circus skills, Barnum has been rescheduled for Easter 2021 at the Ringwood School Theatre.
In the meantime the popular RMDS summer shows, which traditionally take place at Greyfriars at the end of July and showcase the town’s young talent, have been cancelled for this year, and last week the decision was made to also call off the society’s autumn play and the late autumn Ringwood Soirée because of the ongoing coronavirus restrictions. A decision has yet to be made on whether the traditional Christmas choir concerts will be able to take place, usually at Ellingham, Trinity and Ringwood parish churches..
If that too is cancelled – because social distancing makes rehearsing very difficult and large gatherings of audiences may still not be allowed – this year will be the first time since World War II that RMDS, which was founded way back in 1911, has not been able to stage a single performance.