News

    2024 not only marks the 125th anniversary of NODA, but also the launch of the ‘new-look’ NODA. But what are NODA doing to ensure we stay relevent for the next 125  years? 1899, the year the Victoria and Albert Museum foundation stone was laid, Noël Coward was born...

The most dazzling fashion statements issued at the NODA East Regional Awards in April, were clearly the province of gentlemen attending the gala. Master of ceremonies, John Horley, gleamed in a maroon satin waistcoat patterned with flowers, while District 4 North Representative, Leslie Judd, released his spirit bird, a peacock,...

It was back to Plymouth for the Annual Night of Glitz and Glamour! Saturday 19th May 2024, saw a return to Plymouth’s Crown Plaza Hotel for NODA Southwest’s Annual Awards Evening, celebrating all the very best in Amateur Theatre in the region for shows performed in 2023. Hosted by Southwest...

On Thursday 9th May, I attended The Lamproom Theatre Barnsley to watch The Lamproom MTC’s production of Priscilla Queen of The Desert. As usual I took a photo of the programme to post on Facebook, tagged the various members who are friends and put my usual “Break a Leg” message...

Joshua Slade was the last person to be hanged for murder in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in a case dotted with twists and turns. Arrested for the murder of the Reverend Joshua Waterhouse in the nearby village of Stukeley, during a botched burglary, Slade initially looked likely to escape punishment for his...

A major source of reference has been Jim Harland’s books on The History of Blyth and, specifically, Trevor W Harder’s article on Beaconsfield Operatic Society. In the early 1920s, an enthusiastic band of singers in Blyth formed a musical group with possibly the longest title for such an organisation: The...

Stoke Youth Musical Theatre Company was originally formed as the youth section of the former City of Stoke-on-Trent Operatic Society in 1979. The youth section age range was 11 to 21 and it was governed by five members of the former society’s executive committee. Sadly, those five are no longer...

We know about the horrific end of life suffered by gay university student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, USA before The Laramie Project even starts. The hours of torture and finally, his death are not the climactic moments of the three-act play in which as few as eight actors portray...

Following the passing of Bert Lumsden on 20 June 2024, after a short illness, one word has been used by all who have paid tribute – gentleman. Bert was indeed a gentleman who devoted a significant amount of time and effort in supporting amateur theatre locally in Dundee, as a...

Bournemouth and Boscombe Light Opera Company - known locally as BBLOC, (pronounced B-block) started life as Boscombe Light Opera Company in 1954, and is Bournemouth’s largest amateur musical theatre company. BBLOC has often led the way with new shows - New Moon in 1962, Naughty Marietta in 1964, and The...