75th Anniversary Concert

For its first venture back for a couple of years after the pestilence of Covid, South Shields G&S celebrated their 75th Anniversary with a concert in a new venue at the Pier Pavilion, South Shields.

With 10 men and over 25 women on stage the playing area could have been crowded but appeared not, due to clever use of people effectively ‘hot staging’ as they took their individual place in the spotlight.

The stage and the auditorium were well dressed in posters from the societies many productions over the years; many of the last few years I’ve had the pleasure to visit. The use of this decoration felt bright, and this permeated through to the enjoyment of the audience. Use of draped curtains sympathetically lit in the first act added to the enjoyment as did the sparkling Star cloth in the second act.
Sound and Lighting from Tony Atkinson Associates and Ian Johnson respectively were spot on.
The cast all scrubbed up very well in posh frocks and DJ’s with one exception which I’ll mention later.

Music came courtesy of a trio of musicians comprising keyboard, guitar and drums – sound didn’t overpower the singers (which I always find a bit of a frustration when it does happen)

Onto the concert itself, with over 35 shows covered this was a concert for everyone. Each half had three themes; the first comprising ‘Guys and Dolls’ - an eclectic mix of duos or trios relating to the interaction between Man and Woman – the finale number of this section in part harmony was simply beautiful as the full company regaled us with ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight’.
The next section of ‘Big Favourites’ – this was ‘exactly what it said on the tin’ – there was none bigger than the six ladies performing ‘Cell Block Tango’ to rapturous applause.
The final section for Act 1 was ‘Loved and Lost’ – as a tribute to, and commemorating those the society have lost over the years. Perhaps the most haunting of this section was ‘The Rose’.

Coming into the second act the society performed in a section called ‘Pirates versus Cowboys’ in which the cast challenged itself to a ‘sing off’ with songs from well known ‘cowboy’ shows such as Oklahoma and Calamity Jane (all wearing cowboy hats) – Their ‘opposition’ were the ‘Pirates’ (in suitable pirate headwear and scarves) performing songs from the societies roots of G&S from ‘Pirates of Penzance.’
A shorter section on ’High Hopes’ – which featured songs relating to hope and longing (my favourite being ‘My Child’ from ‘Blood Brothers’)
The last section was entitled ‘What I Did for Love’ – featuring what we humans are willing to do to be loved. This section was filled with showstopper numbers and was an absolute delight.

The Finale entitled ‘The Road Home’ was a spectacular vision into the talent of the society with a simply superb, harmonised medley from Les Mis and finishing during the bow to ‘Lullaby of Broadway’.

The large audience to a person was on their feet because this was well deserving of a standing ovation for a society that have entertained South Tyneside for the last 75 years and this concert only served to confirm why.

I have not mentioned any individual in this report deliberately because this was a true Ensemble concert, each single part enhancing the overall performance – and what a performance it was.

Well done South Shields G&S who were presented on stage at the end with a certificate to recognise their 75 years by NODA National President, Christine Hunter Hughes.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.