A brief history of the Blackburn Gilbert and Sullivan Society

In 1963, Bert Hyde, a well known local amateur of the stage, contacted the local evening paper, the Northern Daily Telegraph, inviting any G and S enthusiasts to join him at the YMCA on Limbrick, Blackburn (now the Sir Charles Napier pub) for a sing-along, (and please bring any scores you may have).
About 15 persons turned up to that first meeting, and after a few weeks of impromptu singing, they decided to put on a show!
A committee was formed, the show chosen...The Gondoliers. Ruth Prest was asked to produce, and Mr Andrews, well known in the musical world, and, incidentally, blind, became the first M.D.
The society had literally nothing, so fund raising was a major priority. One of the methods chosen, selling football tickes, resulted in a contact with Connie Kay, and she became the first secretary, and indeed was the secretary for many years.

Our first show, The Gondoliers, was given in February 1964 at the Community Theatre, Troy Street, Blackburn (first a mosque, since demolished) to great acclaim. We are just about to launch into our 48th production, the double bill of Trial by Jury and HMS Pinafore, and will start rehearsing for the next one around the end of August.