by Sam Coleman
In 1950 a group of young people met to start something that changed the local history of Ringwood. They formed a 'Concert Party' called 'The Nitwits', which later, with tongue in cheek, they renamed 'The Soirée'. Some people claim that the starting date was 1949, but who can quibble over one year. Three of the original members of the 'Nitwits' team, Lou Guy, Bill Habbin and Joan Peck (nee Trimmer) are still members of the Ringwood Musical and Dramatic Society, and even they can't agree on the original starting date.
It all started one Sunday afternoon. A young man named John Maidment, who was a member of R.M.D.S., called a group of the younger members of the Society to a meeting in his parent's public house, The Original White Hart in Ringwood. He floated the idea that, as they all enjoyed 'treading the boards' in musicals and couldn't all get into the plays, it might be a good idea to put on a 'Concert' with the essential ingredients of song, dance and humour. After all, in those days the annual Musical took place in February at The Regal Cinema, after which there was a wait of seven months or so before the commencement of rehearsals for the following year's show.
Remembering that all the men involved had recently been demobbed from the services, having served in the Second World War, the humour was 'broad' and the number of humorous situations they had found themselves in were endless. The Sunday afternoon ran on into a hilarious evening, as songs and the ideas for sketches gradually took place, one good idea leading on to another. The whole idea seemed a little crazy and way out for its time. Hence they set on the name 'The Nitwits'.
Once they were into rehearsal John hired the Ringwood Lecture Hall, had tickets printed, and put them for sale on the bar of 'The White Hart'. After a short while he called the others together with the shock news that all the tickets had been sold, and, even more frightening, many had been bought by local business people, and people well thought of in the town. The team was worried stiff on the opening night in case they had not got the formula right and they were about to make fools of themselves. As Lou Guy reported, they were very lucky because, by sheer chance, they had hit on the perfect format to suit the residents of Ringwood.
After that first performance they went to 'The Crown' for an after show drink, and were met by numerous people wishing to congratulate them, and demanding that another show be put on the following year. The die was cast and, as the popularity of this unique form of entertainment increased, so did the demand for tickets. In the next year of 'The Nitwits', Denny Rutter and the late Jack Dixon joined the team. Lou, Bill, Denny and Jack became the bedrock of the shows over the next thirty odd years, writing most of the comedy sketches themselves.
For the next few years the team presented shows in small halls around the area, as well as at the 'Lecture Hall'. There was a break for a couple of years, when the 'Lecture Hall' was demolished, before Esther Wiseman called the group together again to provide entertainment for Ringwood Carnival week. The new venue was 'The Crown Hotel in Ringwood, and the show became known by its present name 'The Soirée, playing for three performances a year. From that day to the present the format has remained the same, with a completely new show every year. Shortly after the move to 'The Crown' Dorice Hare took over as the producer of the Soirée, putting some degree of order into the format of the shows as far as choreography and songs were concerned, and trying to keep the comedy under control.
In 1956 Bobs Guy, Lou's wife and Dorice's daughter, joined the team on stage and appeared for many years before taking on her mother's mantle as producer, a job she is still doing with great success today.
In 1959 Sam Coleman joined the team and appeared for a number of years before injuring his back at rugby. As he couldn't appear on stage, the rest of the team suggested he took on the task of business manager, including the sale of tickets. This job he took on for the short term, but is still doing it after well over 30 years.
In 1970 John Truman joined the team, and has developed into the popular compere the audiences love today. His fund of stories and ready repartee keeps the show running smoothly, and his relationship with his audience is second to none. John not only comperes the show, but also has the energy to appear in musical numbers and sketches.
It was in the late 1970's that the Soirée left The Crown and moved to 'The Riverside Club', Ringwood (now the David Lloyd Club) and stayed there until 1987, when the club was redeveloped. The next move was to The League of Friends Hall at St. Leonards Hospital and there they have performed until the present day. Unfortunately this hall is to be demolished at the end of the year, leaving the team with the headache of finding a new venue for the year 2000. Their task has been made more difficult due to the popularity of the show. They now put on 16 performances a year over a separate three-week period in the late autumn. At each of these 16 performances they have to accommodate at least 200 people, all sitting at tables. The popularity of the show is such that every year all tickets are sold for all performances, within 48 hours: and this with no advertising!
The Guy/Hare family connection has continued through the 50 years of the Soirée, with Bobs and Lou's daughter Suzy appearing for a number of years, as did their son Nick. Their elder son Chris made cameo appearances while acting as a stage hand, when not on duty with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and this year saw Suzy's husband Angus 'tread the boards' for the second time with the group. Bobs' parents both were fully involved, with Dorice acting as the producer and 'Bunny' Hare as the compere for a number of years.
Also the Habbin family has been a major influence throughout the history of the Soirée. Bill was, of course, in the original team, and was soon joined in the 'Nitwits' by his wife Vera and, some time later, by their daughter Lindsay. (Unfortunately, their son David was lost to the West End professional stage before he could join the team!)
Particularly during the time at the 'Riverside Club', the team were indebted to Jeannie Seymour for the amount of time she spent in arranging the choreography for the shows. Her husband Alan was a long-serving member of the team.
The success of the Soirée can be put down to the enthusiasm and dedication of the relatively small team, and although the personnel have changed across the years, a degree of stability has been achieved throughout.
It would be churlish not to mention the names of a number of people in the team who have served for long periods on stage. People like John Wiseman, Poppy Garvey, Anne Maynard, Jenny Elward, David Darts, Peter Durant, Richard Gilbey, Richard Bennett, Linda Turner, Claire Matthews, Charlotte Hockey, Julian Peckham and Simon Hawker, along with those previously mentioned. Let's not forget the people not in front of the footlights. The original wardrobe mistress was Tessa Casalis de Pury, who rejoined the team after many years in Zambia. She has been joined by Mo Rawlance. The backstage, sound and lighting people have included Peter Crutcher, Brian and Barbara Scarfe, Mike Bailey, Keith Turner and Martin Taylor. The pianists - Arthur Lerrigo, Bill Hargreaves, Nancie Bailey, Jonathan Spratt and Harry Levings who played for the team for over 20 years. The long serving drummers, Pete Bartlett and Pete Mundy, plus in the Front of House team, John Thomas, Edith Newman, Mike and Kay Skuse, Iris and Dennis Peckham and hundreds of R.M.D.S. members who have waited at table over the years.
Over the 50 years many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been raised for large numbers of charitable organisations. Ringwood Carnival, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Round Table, Police Charities, St. Leonards League of Friends, Children In Need, The Wessex Children's Hospice, The Wessex Medical Trust, Bournemouth Heart Club, Leukaemia Busters, The Sheilings Community and, this year, Mencap, to name a few. Money raised for the R.M.D.S. has been used to help refurbish The Ringwood School by installing tiered seating, install new lighting and sound systems and new curtains and turning it into a theatre. Even as far back as 1951 'The Nitwits' raised £110 at a concert in the grounds of The Manor House for the Community Centre Fund, which in those days was a considerable amount and was equivalent to about one third of what until then had been raised. Just during the eleven year tenure at St Leonards, about a quarter of a million pounds has been raised for charity.
I wonder what that small group of friends meeting all those years ago would have thought if they had realised what they were starting. What enjoyment would be had by so many thousands of people, and how many less fortunate would benefit from, what was to them, just a bit of fun. Let's be proud of this achievement, and hope the present Soirée team can find another venue, and keep entertaining and raising money for the next 50 years.
I.D.C.
2000