Morpeth Theatre Group- Northumberland

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Morpeth Theatre Group was originally formed as ‘The Morpeth Pantomime Society’ in 1979 by Christine Barron together with several parents of some of the pupils who attended ‘The Christine Barron School of Dancing’ in Morpeth. It was formed as a family society, and this policy of encouraging families to join is still being maintained today.

Red Riding Hood

A lot of hard work and enthusiasm produced the Society’s first Pantomime in January 1980 ‘Red Riding Hood’ What became apparent was the wealth of talent available. Christine as producer already had experience in good amateur productions as well as her ability as a choreographer. The script was written by Jack Hilton a recognised name in North East theatre, From three year olds to teenagers there was a lot of acting talent in the Dancing school. Dads and Mums were persuaded (cajoled would be a more appropriate word) to fill the necessary adult roles, such as Dame, Village Idiot, or Villain. Also among the parents were dressmakers, electrician, joiners capable of building stage sets, Sound engineers. Make-up know how. To launch this sort of project, funds are needed. And the members worked hard to raise the funds with raffles, coffee mornings, sponsored bike rides, etc. Anything that brought in cash. So Morpeth now had it’s own Pantomime, and the public really supported it. Red Riding Hood was staged at KEVI School, for several nights.

Developing and raising funds

Christine produced the Pantomimes for the Society for the first nine years, in which time the productions and the Society grew in popularity. A concert party consisting of some of the members entertained various groups in the area in an effort to raise additional funds and awareness of the Society. After the first few years the Society held an annual Garden Fete in the grounds of Pigdon Hall, the home of Mr and Mrs Norman Parsons (who’s daughter was a member ) and thanks to their generosity this event which was held for several years raised enough funds to put the Society on a firm financial footing. This was a fun day, the members wearing a variety of costumes You could have afternoon tea served by vivacious French Maids or spend your money on a wheel of fortune manned by a couple of crazy clowns, as well as many other attractions. Thankfully the weather was always kind, and a great time was had by all.

The Society became a member of NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) which provides innumerable services to amateur societies.

During the next ten years the society used scripts written by nationally acclaimed writers, as well as local talent and alternated conventional pantomimes such as Cinderella, Aladdin, etc. with more adventurous scripts such as Frankenstein, Pinnochio, Wizard of Oz and The Lambton Worm. The quality of the sets and performances continued to improve, and attracted more members and larger audiences.

As an alternative to the annual garden Fete, but still classed as a fund raising event, the Society decided to stage a Summer show. Initially this took the form of a light-hearted Review, or an "Old Time Music-Hall". The committee then decided the Society should attempt a Musical, although there was some doubt as to our capability in the minds of some members. Nevertheless in 1998 ‘Half a Sixpence’ was performed in KEVI School for 3 nights on a very tight budget, and proved worthwhile, both as a fund raiser and as a production. This was followed in 1999 by ‘Anything Goes’ and ‘Calamity Jane in 2003 and the comedy play `Allo’ `Allo’ in 2004. The annual Pantomimes were still being successfully produced in January each year, so it was round about this time that it was decided to change the name to ‘The Morpeth Theatre Group‘ incorporating the varied productions under one umbrella.

In 2009 ‘Aladdin‘ was the 30th Pantomime performed at KEVI School by the Society. In those 30 years a few hundred current and former members have enjoyed (most of the time) giving many hours of their own time and effort to the productions.

One outstanding achievement of the MPS (as it is often referred to) is the social side of the organisation. The pulling together in the final weeks of rehearsal, the adrenalin rush during the week of the show, the get togethers at Quiz nights, Karaokes, Discos, and BBQs have all played their part in cementing very many lasting friendships. [On a couple of occasion resulting in matrimony} Oooo.

Each annual Panto has been attended by an average of 900 people, add to that the attendances at the Summer shows, and we can say that our total audience to date must be in the region 30,000. people of all ages from toddlers to Great Grand parents. In difficult times for amateur societies we are striving to build on that number.

Written by Gordon Carr

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