'Do you remember when...?'

'I wish I’d kept a scrap book of the shows'.

After these phrases had been uttered for the umpteenth time, the thought of trying to compile a history of the Ringwood Musical and Dramatic Society began to struggle in to life.

How to begin such a project? Where to begin it?

These were the next questions demanding answers, so, logically, we tried to begin at the beginning.

The Society first came into being in the year of 1911, with a small group of enthusiasts meeting in the old Lecture Hall in Ringwood. The first production was 'The Mandarin', described in the programme as 'A Celestial Comic Opera', given at the Manor House Theatre on February 27^th and 28^th, 1912. Quoting from the personal diary of one of the lady members of the company

Feb. 26^th'Dress rehearsal for ‘Mandarin’ - all went well.'

Feb. 27^th'First night! Had to turn people away - charged 1/- each to stand.'

Feb. 28^th'Just as successful - finished up with a Leap Year Dance - Great fun !!'

March 25^th'Meeting to hear Balance Sheet read ‘took £40’!'

This lady is still keenly interested in the affairs of the Society and proudly boasts that she has seen all of its productions, either as a performer or as a member of the audience.

A reflection of those more leisured days is shown in the programme

The following year saw a more ambitious production of 'HMS Pinafore', this time for three nights, and again to packed houses. Another quote from the diary, 'Vicar quite enjoyed it'. The cast must have had terrific stamina, for the extract from the Diary continues 'Finished up with whist drive and dance,got home 3.30 am, very tired'.

1914 saw 'Merrie England!' as the major effort, coupled with concerts in aid of local charities, and then came World War 1. Organised productions were suspended until 1921, when 'The Mikado' was the choice. Various works of Gilbert and Sullivan, alternating with those of Edward German followed until 1927 , when ‘Les Cloches de Corneville' allowed the Society’s attention to turn to other than English operetta and early misgivings about the success of the show were proved wrong, for the records show a credit balance. A thought to gladden the heart of any Treasurer!

During the course of time, the Society became used to working In the larger premises of the 'Picture House', later the Victoria Cinema. In 1934, a production of a three act play 'Her Shop' by Aimee and Philip Stuart began a new phase of 'Legitimate' theatre, in addition to the more traditional operetta and musical comedy. The success of this laid the foundations of the tradition of presenting two plays and one musical production in each year.

This continued until the coming of television when the formerly enthusiastic audiences for plays dwindled to the extent that such productions were no longer financially possible, and the Society had to curtail its activities in this area.

A gradual move away from Gilbert and Sullivan followed, with 'A Country Girl', 'Toreador' and 'Floradora' being produced. In 1939 'Goodnight Vienna' was the last show before World War II, when the Society’s men had to devote their efforts to more vital tasks.

It being impossible to keep a good Society down, 1947 saw the re-establishment of the pattern of two 'Straights' and one 'Musical' again. Once more 'HMS Pinafore' sent the Society on its way. 'The Mikado' followed the next year, and then came the move away from Gilbert and Sullivan, which lasted for many years. The works of Lionel Monkton took their turn, with ‘A Country Girl' being revived and so too 'The Quaker Girl' slightly later.

In 1959 came the much more ambitious project of an American show when 'Oklahoma!' burst on the scene. This was a major challenge for the Regal Cinema was not really suited to this type of production. The actual stage was shallow - a mere 16 feet from back wall to footlights, with very little space in the wings for stacking scenery, together with limited access to the stage for the chorus and principals. By some careful thought and a great deal of luck, the whole show was mounted, with even the 'Surrey with the Fringe on Top' being manhandled into place.

By now, the Society was nearing its Golden Jubilee and the appeal of 'Carousel' could not be ignored. The music of Richard Rogers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein were irresistible, even if the problems of staging caused constant headaches for the Producer and the Stage Manager seriously considered emigrating!

Whether it was the sense of occasion, or merely the customary effort by all concerned, 'Carousel' was one of the outstanding presentations of the Society, satisfying patrons of long standing and gaining many new supporters for the future.

Over the next few years, there followed a wide selection of productions chosen from the best of musical comedy and operetta. 'White Horse Inn', with its wealth of costume, colour and cheerful music; the fairy-tale quality of 'Brigadoon', which enchanted enthusiastic audiences; then back again to the American West, with 'Calamity Jane' followed by another great Rogers and Hammerstein show, 'South Pacific', in 1965.

This year also saw the support for three act plays dwindle to a point where it was no longer financially possible to continue to present them. After one last attempt in 1969 to win back the former following, this side of the Society’s work was shelved until some future time when the public again favours live theatre in preference to the TV screen.

However, to compensate for the absence of plays, a new phase began. This was to produce a concert annually, with part of the programme given to choral and solo performance and part to show to advantage the growing strength of the Society’s orchestra. 'Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast' was the major work chosen for the choir, who found the formality of concert performance a pleasant change from the feverish pace of the conventional musical productions.

With some trepidation, 'The Merry Widow' was chosen for the 1967 show. We doubted whether our limited stage could do justice to this eternally popular story and score. Happily, we were proven wrong and it is a matter for debate as to who derived the greater pleasure from it, the audience who watched and listened, or the members of the Society who reveled in singing Lehar’s happiest music. In all, it was a great success.

From Vienna, a quick dash back into the 15^th century and the contrasts of squalor and splendour of 'The Vagabond King', At one extreme, the unkempt rabble of Paris and at the other the richly dressed court if Louis XI. Still greater contrast followed, with the gentle, demure qualities of Victorian England and 'Bless the Bride'.

1970 again saw the Society turn to Vienna for its source of music, this time to the waltzes and polkas of Johann Strauss, woven into 'Waltzes from Vienna', so pleasing to sing and judging from audience reaction, equally pleasing to hear.

A celebration year again in 1971, this time our Diamond Jubilee and to make good use of the considerable talent of the many members 'The Quaker Girl' was chosen, again to the evident pleasure of our supporters, who were happy to celebrate the occasion too. The concert programme for this year concentrated on 'Merrie England' which we were also invited to perform at Fordingbridge, where again, we were greatly encouraged by a wonderful audience.

1972 - With high hopes, the Society went cheerfully into rehearsal of Offenbach’s 'Orpheus in the Underworld'. However, a short while before the show was due to open, our beloved Regal Cinema was closed and stripped of many essential properties and It became apparent that it would not be possible to continue with this show. For the first time in its history, the Society was forced to abandon a production, as it was not possible to obtain suitable alternative accommodation in the available time. Gloom prevailed and many thought that this would indeed be the end of our long road. As it turned out the Society was 'down for a count of 8', but it certainly wasn’t 'Out'! The 'Orpheus' music provided the bulk of the summer concert programme for that year.

With no theatre now available, a new home for the Society’s productions had to be found, so again reverting to the simple stage requirements of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, 'HMS Pinafore' again sailed into view, to provide a firm foundation on which to rebuild our hopes and reputation. These were well justified and although the theatre 'atmosphere' is lost, we now present our shows in the hall of Ringwood School (thanks to the kind co-operation of the Headmaster and the Board of Governors). Our loyal audiences still give us their support and encouragement, without which we would surely fade away.

1973 began a new era, with the Society gaining in membership and supporters and with high hopes 'Oklahoma!' was again chosen for the 1974 production, When the time for auditions came, members excelled themselves in their reading and singing for the many parts. This was one of the happy occasions when the Casting Committee had to worry about who to leave out and not how to fill a cast list from very few volunteers. This time, it would have been possible to find a different cast for each performance.

The production itself is still fresh in the minds of Company and audience alike, from the quiet and tranquil opening scene to the boisterous 'Oklahoma!' chorus. The 'Dream Ballet' with its unusual use of lighting effects will be remembered for a long time, together with all the gaiety of the chorus throughout the entire show. Of course, there were headaches for most of the production team, but that is part of the 'pleasure' of belonging to a Musical and Dramatic Society! The audience does not (and must not) know of all these problems - they want to see a polished performance from all concerned and that is what we try to achieve.

Now we approach the 100^th presentation of the Society, no mean feat for any such organisation and we are working hard to make our Summer Concert of 1974 worthy of this distinction.

Over the long history of the Society, there have been many outstanding personalities who have influenced events, both on stage and off, some as individuals and in many instances, whole families have shared this interest.

The Barrow family, in particular, gave great service to the Society from its earliest days, when Harry Barrow and his brother Ted played many leading roles, both on and off stage, together with Harry’s daughter Esther (later Mrs Wiseman). They had the distinction of having three generations serving the interests of the Society, Harry as its Chairman for many, many years and Esther and her son John appearing together in a number of productions. Another family closely linked with the Society is the Hares. From the time in the 1920’s when the name of R.N. Hare first appeared on a programme, later to be joined by his wife, Dorice and their children, Rosemary, Sonya and Steven, 'Bunny' Hare has assisted the Society in all the offices of the committee. He has, at different times, been Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chairman, Chairman and is, at present, our President.

The 1973 programme of HMS Pinafore again listed three generations of a family assisting in the same show, 'Bunny' Hare as President, his daughter, Rosemary Guy, in the chorus and his grandson, Nicholas Guy, as the Midshipman. It is the involvement of whole families like this which keeps the lifeblood of Societies flowing and ensures their continuing strength.

There have been and are many others who have rendered great service to the Society, either as officials, organisers or playing members, without whose help the Society could not have continued for so many happy years.

The important tasks of producing shows and directing the music have always been in capable hands and among the producers, perhaps the two best remembered are Mr. George Stone and Captain K. MacDonald) (whose name always appeared on the programme as 'Donald Mackie'). Mr. Stone’s long association with the Society began in 1927 and his name first appears as producer in 1929, when he both produced and appeared in 'The Mikado', and he continued to work with the Society until 1954, when he produced 'Goodnight Vienna'. During his latter years, both he and Captain MacDonald worked in close collaboration and it was an automatic transfer of authority when Mr. Stone died.

During his long tenure of office as Producer 'Mac' raised the already good standard of both performance and presentation to far greater heights, demanding, and getting, almost professional results from everyone concerned. Never departing from high standards of good taste and meticulous attention to detail, he gave to all members a great measure of help, enabling them to present the characters they portrayed in the best possible manner. The Society was saddened by his death in 1972. He will long be remembered, particularly by those long-serving members of the Society who had the good fortune to work with him for so many years.

No production can go on without the help of an unseen band of workers back stage, who give up time, holidays (and sleep), to struggle with unfamiliar scenery, cumbersome lighting fittings, many and varied properties and costumes - all for the so-called pleasure (!) associated with amateur theatricals. One stage manager, John Newton, supervised the staging of 50 consecutive productions, both musicals and plays, before finally convincing the Chairman of the day that he really meant it when he handed in his annual letter of resignation. The Chairman usually just tore it up, but this time JWN was adamant. However, his experience could not be wasted and he is now the Chairman of the Society!

The Society has always been most fortunate in its ability to find first rate Musical Directors. From the days of Mr. Farwell, its first MD, through those of Captain Hedges, Lance Robberts, Roy Dymott, David Benke up to our present MD, Harry E.Thurston, all have spent patient hours of concentrated effort with singers and orchestras, ensuring a polished performance from everyone. Some of them began their association with the Society by playing in the orchestra and indeed Harry Thurston sang many leading roles for the Society before taking up the baton. The patience of Musical Directors is unbelievable, only equalled by that of the many talented pianists who have provided the accompaniment for musical rehearsals, and without whose skill we would indeed be in a sorry state. This is especially so when one realises that there have been, are and will be, members of the chorus who cannot read music and who have to memorise the melodies and harmonies, so patiently repeated over and over again by the accompanist.

Very few shows would omit dancing from their spectacle and in this respect too, we have had wonderful help at all times. The late Marie Soanes was for many years our choreographer and spent endless hours convincing people who thought they had two left feet that they were capable of mastering simple, elegant dance routines. From the ranks of her many pupils at the Ringwood School of Ballet, we were able to recruit a constant stream of first class dancers, who really provided all the spectacular movements and whose technique was a constant tribute to the teaching of Marie (who we still miss, sadly).

Of course, this is by no means a complete history of Ringwood Musical and Dramatic Society, there are many gaps and perhaps many omissions of people who have helped to make it what it is today. Perhaps this state can be corrected at some time in the future, when a more detailed account of our life may be written.

While writing of our many members, past and present, the most important people of all must not be forgotten, and that is you our audience.

Without the wonderful support of the people of Ringwood and the surrounding district, this Society could have 'quietly folded its tents and disappeared into the night' and we are always conscious of the debt we owe to you, our loyal friends and supporters.

If there is no audience, our efforts on stage are of no value. But as long as you continue to come and see what we offer for your entertainment, we will certainly do our part in providing you with the best shows, concerts, and plays that our resources and talents will permit.

M.L.N.