"The Mikado - Centenary Celebration Production"
Tuesday 10th - Saturday 14th June 2025
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As WWAOS enters its 100th year, the society is paying homage to its past, by revisiting the first ever production mounted by the society at its life-long home The Cecil Hepworth Playhouse. With it's inaugural production taking place in the same venue which still houses our performances and with the very person whose name the building now bears waving the baton it is only fitting that WWAOS's Centenary Celebration production be The Mikado; last mounted by the society for it's 75th Anniversary.
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is the ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations between W. S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, the second-longest run for any work of musical theatre and one of the longest runs of any theatre piece up to that time. The Mikado is the most internationally successful Savoy opera and has been especially popular with amateur and school productions. The work has been translated into numerous languages and is one of the most frequently played musical theatre pieces in history. A satire of late 19th century British institutions, society and politics, which by setting in a fantasy Japan, an exotic locale far away from contemporary Britain, Gilbert was able to satirise British politics more freely and soften the impact of his criticisms of British social institutions, in a similar way that he used other "foreign" settings in Princess Ida, The Gondoliers, Utopia, Limited and The Grand Duke. |
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Director & Choreographer: James Palmer, Musical Director: Richard Stockton
Key Dates:
Intro: Tuesday 25th February, 8pm
Auditions: Sunday 9th March, 2pm
Tech: Sunday 8th June
Dress: Monday 9th June
Performances: Tuesday 10th - Saturday 14th June inc. Saturday Matinée
Key Dates:
Intro: Tuesday 25th February, 8pm
Auditions: Sunday 9th March, 2pm
Tech: Sunday 8th June
Dress: Monday 9th June
Performances: Tuesday 10th - Saturday 14th June inc. Saturday Matinée
"Wind In The Willows"
Wednesday 3rd - Sunday 7th December 2025
Continuing WWAOS's centenary year celebrations, we are marrying the traditional operettas from our past with contemporary musical theatre at it's best.
Based on Kenneth Grahame’s best-selling classic of children’s literature, and with a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and songs by Olivier Award-winning composers and lyricists George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, The Wind In The Willows is a wild, thrill-seeking tale.
This riotous comedy follows Mole, Rat, Badger, and the impulsive Mr. Toad, whose insatiable need for speed lands him in serious trouble. With his beloved home under threat from the notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of sinister Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape leading to a series of misadventures and a heroic battle to recapture Toad Hall. Full of humor, wit, a gorgeous, soaring score, and heartwarming lessons of friendship, The Wind In The Willows is the perfect fit for family audiences everywhere.
Director: Claire Leonard, Musical Director: Mark Turvill
Key Dates:
Intro: Tuesday 19th August (TBC)
Auditions: 31st August (TBC)
Tech: Monday 1st December
Dress: Tuesday 2nd December
Performances: Wednesday 3rd - Sunday 7th December inc. Saturday and Sunday Matinées
Based on Kenneth Grahame’s best-selling classic of children’s literature, and with a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter and Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes and songs by Olivier Award-winning composers and lyricists George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, The Wind In The Willows is a wild, thrill-seeking tale.
This riotous comedy follows Mole, Rat, Badger, and the impulsive Mr. Toad, whose insatiable need for speed lands him in serious trouble. With his beloved home under threat from the notorious Chief Weasel and his gang of sinister Wild Wooders, Toad must attempt a daring escape leading to a series of misadventures and a heroic battle to recapture Toad Hall. Full of humor, wit, a gorgeous, soaring score, and heartwarming lessons of friendship, The Wind In The Willows is the perfect fit for family audiences everywhere.
Director: Claire Leonard, Musical Director: Mark Turvill
Key Dates:
Intro: Tuesday 19th August (TBC)
Auditions: 31st August (TBC)
Tech: Monday 1st December
Dress: Tuesday 2nd December
Performances: Wednesday 3rd - Sunday 7th December inc. Saturday and Sunday Matinées