Lancaster Amateur Dramatic Society (as it was first known) was formed on Monday, January 26^th 1891 when a number of gentlemen met in the office of Mr. E. G. Clark and elected Sir Thomas Storey as the first President. On March 16th 1891 two productions, ‘Blow for Blow’ and ‘Ici Un Parle’ were performed at the Atheneum, (now the Grand Theatre).

Grand Theatre, Lancaster

In those days Drama Societies often progressed to Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas and L.A.D.S. was no exception, H.M.S. Pinafore being produced in April 1892. By 1894 it was decided that as musical works were now the principal feature of the society’s activity a change of name was necessary and on March 29th 1894 the members approved the new name should be ‘Lancaster Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society’. Up to the outbreak of the First World War Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas were interspersed with shows such as ‘Dorothy’, ‘Falka’, ‘Merrie England’ and ‘Miss Hook of Holland’. A visit to the theatre was a great social occasion as different nights were under the patronage of various groups. There was Hunt Night, Golf Night, Military Night and President’s Night and to facilitate travelling, special trains were arranged with L&NW, Midland and Furness Railway Companies, on one occasion the Society had to agree to cover the costs if the rail tickets sold did not amount to £2!

The cessation of the war saw a revival of musical activities. With Mr. C. R. Tomlinson as Musical Director and Mr. B. J. Vince as Producer, ‘Cingalee’ and ‘The Belle of Brittany’ were produced in the Ashton Hall before returning to the Grand Theatre with ‘The Marriage Market’ in 1922. In 1924 ‘The Arcadians’ was staged in spite of the fact that on the eve of the production it was discovered that the scenery had been let by the owners to two societies playing the same week! But the show must go on and L.A.D.O.S. eventually received the scenery from the Shaftesbury Theatre, London.

1924 was notable also for the arrival on the amateur scene of Mr. Chris Riley. He joined the Society in that year playing first in the chorus then moving on to principal roles and finally taking over as Producer in 1932 with the show ‘A Southern Maid’. With very many excellent shows to his credit, 44 years as Honorary Secretary and in our Centenary Year as President no wonder he was known as Mr L.A.D.O.S.

Two highlights of the next few years was the production in 1936 of ‘Showboat’ thought at the time to be too difficult for Amateurs due to the casting and staging difficulties, and in 1937 the first Amateur production of ‘Royal Exchange’, when the Society was honoured by the presence of the composer Mr. Edward Horan and representatives of Messrs Chappell & Co. and other London theatrical houses.

During the Second World War period the Society carried on its activities albeit on a smaller scale but just as enthusiastically, with Revues, again in the Ashton Hall and also Concert Parties which toured the villages using a special stage ‘fit up’ devised by Mr. Riley.

Custom House, Lancaster

In 1944 L.A.D.O.S. was granted a long term lease of the Custom House. This enabled the Society to make alterations to the inside converting it into a mini theatre with a stage and seating capacity of sixty. Once again the Drama side of the Society began to flourish. One Act and Three Act plays were rehearsed and then put on for members and friends before being subsequently entered in Drama Festivals. Perhaps the most notable play was ‘Uncle Harry’ 1947-48 which reached the National finals of the British Drama League. The Custom House was home to L.A.D.O.S. for 40 years until the building became the Maritime Museum.

1955 marked the start of a new era with the release for amateurs of many of the Broadway Musicals which had reached the London stage, ‘Oklahoma’, ‘South Pacific’, ‘Carousel’, ‘Brigadoon’, and the challenging ‘West Side Story’, all great hits. If only the present shows were as suitable for amateurs! ‘Fiddler on the Roof in 1973 was the last production for Mr. Riley and with his usual skill and flair it was a memorable show.

A few more Operatic shows followed in the 70’s with ‘Die Fledermaus’ and ‘Orpheus’ amongst others and then in 1985 ‘Annie’ burst upon the scene showing the versatility of the Society. Many younger members joined and have happily stayed and so enabled us to present ‘West Side Story’ ‘87 and ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ ‘89.

For 1990 the society chose “Hello Dolly” which provided the men in the society with a fantastic challenge in the Waiter’s Gallop…and the props team with making trays containing items which would stand up to the rigours of the dance! However, all rose admirably to the challenge, and a wonderful show ensued.

1991 was our Centenary Year and our production for that special year was “The Merry Widow” which provided many roles for all ages. Following the final night, a Gala Evening was held in the Banqueting Suite at Lancaster Town Hall. It was lovely to see so many familiar faces from amongst LADOS members past and present, together with several officials from NODA, especially as LADOS was a founding member of NODA at the end of the 19th century.

There is an old saying, “Never work with children or animals” but LADOS ignored that in 1992 when they chose “Oliver” as their annual production, as there were several small boys in the cast, plus the undoubted star of the show Clemmie, an English Bull Terrier belonging to the family of a former member of the society. She had the most challenging role, as by nature she was a real softie, who had to play Bill Sikes’ vicious brute of a dog, Bullseye. She went on stage each night right on cue (although not always in the right direction) following a biscuit rolled on to the stage by her ‘minder’ from the wings!

In 1993 LADOS staged the exciting new musical “Grease” which again saw an influx of new young members, and the lively musical numbers brought back many happy memories for those who were ‘coming of age’ in the 1950’s.

Two years later, in 1995 we tried something rather daring and more than a little bit different with “La Cage aux Folles”. Some of the lads were a little worried that they might become typecast, but they kept the audience guessing each night until the end of the show when their true gender was revealed.

The following year was a coup for the Society when we were finally given permission to stage “Jesus Christ Superstar” at the Grand Theatre. Chris ‘Pom’ Riley had been trying to obtain permission for us to put on this show, but always the answer came back the same, “that it was only released to school or church groups and not amateur societies”. He often said, “If they don’t hurry up and let us do this show, I’ll be up there with Him.” Sadly, this was indeed the case, but we were eventually given the permission we required, on the condition that it was billed as a ‘Tribute to Christopher (Pom) Riley’, which we were delighted to comply with.

Six years later, our then Chairman, Michael Orr, a long time chorister at Lancaster Priory, thought it would be a good idea to stage “Jesus Christ Superstar” in the beautiful setting of the Priory Church. The idea was approved by the church representatives and the LADOS general committee, and permission was again granted from Superstar Ventures Ltd. In February 2002 the Priory was transformed into ancient Israel for this extremely moving interpretation of the last seven days in the life of Jesus Christ.

LADOS perform Chess in 2004

Another first for LADOS was the production of “Chess” in 2004. This was the first time Roger Bradley had produced a show for LADOS, and what a superb job he did. The sets were minimalistic, the lighting set the many different moods perfectly, and the music was in turn, funny, stirring and very moving.

Our 2005 production once again was a first for LADOS with “Anything Goes”. Cole Porter musicals were enjoying a revival, a fact which we took full advantage of. Rehearsals started in September 2004, and were hard work, but lots of fun, and we hope that our audiences enjoyed watching the show as much as the company have enjoyed staging it. For our 2006 production, we once again became the first amateur society to be given the rights to stage a musical which is new to the Lancaster & Morecambe area. This show was “Hot Mikado”, based on Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Mikado”.

For this version, however, the action is transported from ancient Japan to 1940’s America, and many of the musical numbers have been given the jazz/swing/gospel treatment, with the Three Little Maids sounding very much like The Andrews Sisters! The rest of the score has been left very much as G & S wrote it, which will hopefully appeal to the true G & S aficionados.

Our 2007 production was “Fiddler on the Roof” which sadly marked the end of an era for LADOS, as Peggy Brierley decided to hang up her producer’s whistle and take a well-earned retirement. However she went out on a high, with a production which was both wonderfully funny, and often quite poignant, and as usual, she brought out the best in the cast, augmented on this occasion by the Orlyk Ukraine Dancers, who performed the very complicated “Bottle dance”, as well as appearing as Russian soldiers in several other scenes.

Sadly, during rehearsals for this show which, as a committee member he helped to choose, Roger Bradley passed away after a long illness. Roger was a much loved and sorely missed stalwart of LADOS, playing many and varied leading roles, the most memorable being Jesus in both LADOS’ productions of “Jesus Christ Superstar” during the 20 years he was a member, as well as producing our 2004 production of “Chess”

In 2008, we were pleased to welcome back a former society member Tony Hindle, to produce “Singin’ in the Rain” for us. His was a completely different approach to producing, and it was rather a baptism of fire for him with this very challenging show, complete with rain making machinery, and lots of complicated scene changes to deal with. However, under his direction, LADOS pulled off yet another triumphant production, with many favourable comments from the audiences.

Tony was again in charge of our 2009 production of the old Rodgers and Hammerstein favourite, “Carousel” which brought in several new younger members to the society, as well as seeing the welcome return of some former members. This production was wonderfully energetic, and the cast did full justice to the well known and much loved musical numbers. Unfortunately, for one member of the cast each performance was something of a trial, for our Billy Bigelow (Paul Atkinson) is a staunch Everton fan, and had to pretend to lie dead on stage whilst two of the leading ladies sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” over his ‘body’!

Thankfully this didn’t put Paul off coming along for our 2010 production of “The Pajama Game” when he took the role of Sid Sorokin, again under the direction of Tony Hindle. This particular show was last produced by LADOS in 1967, but in 2009/10 rehearsals were certainly unconventional, with Tony leaping on and off tables to demonstrate how he wanted various scenes to be played. Fortunately, he came to no harm, and the results of these energetic demonstrations were fully evident in this lively production.

2011 sees the 120^th anniversary of LADOS, the oldest society in the area still in existence. For this production we have another change of director, as Bryan Wood has swapped his many on-stage roles, for the opportunity to take charge of our production of “Pirates of Penzance”. This was first produced by LADOS in 1893, their third ever show, and again in 1952.