PBGS 50 Years Singing #12: Trial by Jury at Harrogate 2015

Continuing our look back at 50 years of PBGS, in 2015, in a unique collaboration, we performed once again at The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival (now in a new home at Harrogate) alongside fellow G&S Society, Wolverton. PBGS performed our acclaimed Fairytale production of Trial by Jury in the Festival Fringe in Harrogate Theatre, in a double bill with Wolverton G&S's The Zoo. A few members from each Society crossed over into each other’s shows to add to the fun and dressing room mayhem! 

It quickly became evident the main advantage of moving from Buxton to Harrogate for the Festival was Betty’s Teashop. Fortified by cake the Society triumphed and the appreciative audience carried on applauding long after the curtain came down, much to our delight.

PBGS 50 Years Singing #11: PBGS stages our first Stephen Sondheim

Our 2014 production of Into the Woods

 Continuing our look at the history of PBGS, in 2014 we expanded our musical horizons to tackle the challenges of Stephen Sondheim by putting on a production of 'Into the Woods', a twist on old fairytales which weaves several fairy-tale characters into a story of magic beans and the danger of wishes. 

 

'Into the Woods' is a very difficult show, both musically and production wise, but it also has lots of really wonderful parts which gave us a chance to showcase the huge range of talent we have in the Society. 

 

Since then we have tackled two more Sondheim’s: 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum' (2017) and 'A Little Night Music' (2018), gathering several NOVAtion Awards and Nominations along the way.

 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum 2017

 

A Little Night Music 2018

Back together singing at last!

Everyone at the Big Sing

Finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for for so long, PBGS back together singing again!

This is The PBGS Big Sing, recording the chorus numbers for our 50th Anniversary CD of ‘Trial by Jury’ and ‘The Sorcerer’ at Area 88 in Milton Keynes. Over the last 15 months we have all stayed in touch through Zoom with show readings, quizzes and bingo nights, but this is the real thing - all of us raising our voices together doing what we love. Many thanks to our MD, Graham Thomson, for keeping us together and making the day such fun, to Cynthia at the piano with her page-turner-extraordinaire other half, and to the wonderful Mike Crofts on sound. And also to Teresa and Jon Newham for photos and looking after us all. This was ‘too much happiness’. We really raised that roof! 

Watch this space for details of the CD when we have finished recording and production.