Annual Report of Dramatic, Operatic
and Debating Society, 1958-59
President: Mr. T. Higson.
Vice-President: Mr. K. Wright.
Chairman: Angela Taylor.
Secretary: David Berryman.
Committee: Frank Holden, Catherine Smith, Jean Wallace.
On the dramatic side of the society, two productions were held. The first was Shaw's "Androcles and the Lion". The comedy, set in ancient Rome, was well received at both houses. Steven Shaw, Angela Taylor, Wright Platt and Sian Davies were among those who made this play a success.
The other was one of two one-act plays and an operetta. The first play was Barry's "Shall We Join the Ladies ?" The most oustanding character which made this thriller a success was that played by Steven Shaw. He was excellently supported by Frank Briggs, Mavis Fielding, Olive Shaw, Kevin Dronsfield and Barbara Jackson. A roaring comedy acted by the lower school "The Crimson Coconut" was on the same bill. It was highly successful. Jeremy Sutcliffe and Jack Wilcock particularly adding to the laughter.
The operetta was Gilbert & Sullivan's "Cox and Box". This was a very amusing, quite farcical musical, with Tony Kerr and Frank Holden, singing well, accompanied by Harry Butterworth, who played the piano accompaniment to the singing.
Mrs. Pilling left us at Christmas. We have gained much valuable service from Mrs. Pilling and we know this service will not soon be forgotten. We wish her every happiness and joy for the future.
Barbara Jackson, our Secretary, has left us to go to University. We wish her every success for the future.
It was decided that we should change our title to include debates, which we thought would be very successful, as indeed they were.
We were rather disappointed as regards outside speakers this year, as three letters concerning these were not even answered.
"Murder in the Cathedral" was the title of a record which was played at one meeting. It was very well received by all who heard it.
On the debating side of the society, three debates were held. These were all highly successful, perhaps the most successful being on "This house prefers classical music to any other form of popular music". This one was well illustrated on the classical side by recordings from "The Planet Suite" and "Carmen".
This last year has been a highly successful one, and we hope that in the future it will serve the school equally well.
Football Report
Last season was the most successful for some years. The first eleven began well and maintained its standard throughout the season. The football training sessions in the gymnasium were strongly recommended by Mr. Cox, and the teams responded well. A great contributory fact to the success of the first eleven was the high standard of physical fitness. It is hard to single out any player from such a successful team, but Barry Dyson showed some good form towards the end of the season, although the leading goal-scorer was Wright Platt.
It is hoped that the forth-coming season will prove to be as successful for the first eleven.
A. CLARK (Sec.).