Carmenians History

A run down of the past 60 years…

1950:

The Carmenians Musical Theatre Company was formed in Plymstock, Plymouth in 1950. The first production was a pantomime “Red Riding Hood” staged in The Plymstock Recreational Hall. Superbly costumed for a local event, the production played to packed audiences. A hard working and close-knit unit, the success of The Carmenians came quickly resulting in a move to ‘The Globe Theatre’ for the society’s first musical “The Geisha”.

The 60’s:

The company flourished with half a dozen traditional musicals, then spread their wings and introduced Plymouth to the ‘modern’ musical “Oklahoma!” in 1957. After ten years of sell-out performances the company moved to the larger ‘Athenaeum Theatre’ for “Carousel” in 1961. With more full houses, the company immediately made a further major leap to join two local established theatre companies; The Plymouth Gilbert and Sullivan Fellowship and The Plymouth Amateurs to present “Kiss me Kate” in 1963 at The Palace Theatre, Plymouth. Unfortunately, subsequently the beautiful Palace Theatre fell to Bingo and The Carmenians were left with the hard decision of whether to play safe at the small Hoe Theatre or Athenaeum Theatre, or to risk everything at the giant ABC Theatre. The Carmenians took the challenge to perform at The ABC Theatre. Staging difficulties were immense, costs seemed prohibitive but in November 1963 the curtain went up on “Showboat”, and the members knew for the first time the thrill of playing to an audience of two thousand. The company continued to play the ABC for ten years with smaller productions at The Athenaeum and Hoe Theatres. All profits were ploughed back into the company enabling the hire of the best professional Producers and, when necessary, engaging first class professional leads.

The 70’s:

Then came the halcyon days of “Mayflower 70”. The then Chairman, Mr Ron Sprague, coincidently happened to be in the office of The Plymouth Entertainments Manager when he noticed a book of original musical entitled “The Mayflower”. He was convinced of its merit and was certain that it would be the right production to commemorate and celebrate the sailing of “The Mayflower” to The New World in 1620. Mr Sprague excitedly met with the Librettist, Mr Ireland Cutter and Composer, Mr Tommie Connor in London and the musical was staged at The Hoe Theatre for the entire month of June 1970, with two professional leading men from The English National Opera. We understand that these twenty-eight performances were an achievement never equalled by any other amateur company!

The Carmenians spent a weekend in London at The Pye Studios recording an L.P. of the show! The recording took nine hours of solid singing before the fifteen tracks were finally ‘in the can’!

In 1971, a further world premiere by Connor & Cutter entitled, “The Gentleman of Stratford” was performed for the month of June. Due to atrocious weather conditions and poor box office appeal, The Carmenians suffered a financial loss of approximately £3000. It took a cool nerve to present “Hello Dolly” at The ABC Theatre only five months later. Ironically, the Bingo then moved from The Palace Theatre to The ABC (both owned by E.M.I.). E.M.I. made provisions to sell The Palace Theatre, with no takers. The Carmenians made a deal with E.M.I. whereby the company would re-furbish The Palace to a state in which it could be deemed ‘for use as a potential working theatre’. In return, The Carmenians could have its use for three weeks. Throughout the winter of 1976/77 the members laboured in dirty and often dangerous conditions to renovate The Palace Theatre. Proudly, The Carmenians hard work paid off resulting in the theatre gaining a license for live shows. The company continued to perform at The Palace for the next seven years.

The 80’s:

In 1982, ‘The Theatre Royal, Plymouth’ opened and a new era of theatre was introduced to the South-West. The company took another step into the unknown and staged “The Merry Widow” in 1983. The company continued their success with a further eleven productions at The Theatre Royal. The eleventh production, “The Pyjama Game”, was staged in 1984. Unfortunately due to poor box office appeal and increased competition from the wider choice of professional productions available, The Carmenians were hit financially, with a loss of over £20,000. Sadly, this meant that future productions at The Theatre Royal were not possible (at this time, the estimated budget for a performance at The Theatre Royal was a minimum of £40,000).

Today:

With dwindling finances, it was up to local director Mark Sidey to put The Carmenians back on the map of community theatre in Plymouth.  In 2008, Mark went on a recruitment drive, bringing together talented performers from across the city to support a new production. Mark led the newly formed company – a mix of old and new members – in an energetic and musically brilliant production of Jekyll and Hyde at the Devonport Playhouse.  The show was a big hit and surprised many – even Bill Stone of the Evening Herald was overheard commenting that he enjoyed it more than the Theatre Royal production! Unfortunately, despite excellent reviews from the press and ticket sales that far exceeded expectation, The Carmenians still struggled to reel in the finances they so desperately needed.

In 2009, determined that the company would not fall, Mark Sidey once again stepped up to the challenge with a musical review that was hoped would help cash flow.  Last Train to Broadway was musical revue featuring some of the more unusual Tony Award winning shows from the past 30 years. Staged at Devonport High School for boys, the toe-tappingly enjoyable show was a great showcase of the Carmenians talent. 

Now in its Sixtieth year, The Carmenians celebrate with a production of the quirky and fun musical, Little Shop of Horrors, running from 26th – 29th October 2010 at the Goschen Centre, Keyham.  Fingers crossed that this won’t be their last!