Special thanks- Our fantastic archive was been gathered and collated by John Nettell up to 2013. Further development was added by Gail Andrews from 2013 with newer information.

Archive Gallery

Looking at the records of our society it is impressive that we have been running virtually continuously since 1881. There are very few other societies in the country that can match it. How did it come about?

When one thinks about Evesham Operatic and Dramatic Society, EODS, it is often associated with Evesham Arts Centre (now The Henrician) because since 1980 this is where we have performed. However the Arts Centre only opened in 1980 and until the 1970’s most o our productions were in the Evesham Public Hall.

When one thinks about Evesham Operatic and Dramatic Society, EODS, it is often associated with Evesham Arts Centre (now The Henrician) because since 1980 this is where we have performed. However the Arts Centre only opened in 1980 and until the 1970’s most o our productions were in the Evesham Public Hall.

What was the purpose of the Institute? In one word, improvement. If you could not read o write they would teach you. If you could read a bit they would help you to improve your skills, if you wanted they would teach you basic arithmetic and if you already had some schooling they offered what would now be called leisure activities. Two of these leisure activities concern us now, the first being the Orchestra Class. If you could play a musical instrument, you could then learn to play in a group, band or orchestra. The other leisure activity that interests us now was the Discussion Class. They listened to talks, they held discussions about talks or items of news, they held debates, if it could be talked about, they did. Toward the end of 1881, it seems that the Discussion Class decided that The Institute needed more funds an more members so they organised an entertainment on Wednesday 2nd November 1881, they called it “A Conversazione”

The Entertainment consisted of three parts. The first was musical, five local singers sang a programme of solos, duets and quartets with the Band of the Institute Orchestral Class playing two items- the Minuet from Hadyn’s seventh symphony, and a March by Hall. The second part o the evening was an address by the President of the Institute, Herbert New, in which he took a long time to say “the Institute needs your help”. The third part was “a Dramatic Performance” (a play) performed by members of the Discussion Class. The play was “Bardell v Pickwick”, the trial scene from Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens which was a very popular play at the time. There was a cast of about twenty, all, apparently members of the Discussion Class and all men, so the three ladies in the play, Mrs Bardell and her two friends were played by men. It seems there were no ladies as members of the Discussion Class.

The Evesham Journal reported that the play was judged a great success, both by the audience and by the cast. Thus it was decided to form The Evesham Amateur Dramatic Society (EADS). A meeting was held at which a committee was formed. The committee selected a play, or rather two one act plays, they were cast, put into rehearsal and on Tuesday 14th February 1882 they were performed in front of large audience in the Farmers and Merchants Hall.

The two plays were a farce entitled “Furnished Apartments” and a comic drama “The Illustrious Stranger”. The Evesham Journal reported that “the prices were high but the room was full, the audience embracing nearly all of the ‘principle residents’”. Seats cost three shillings (roughly £9.93 in 2017) for front seats, two shillings (roughly £6.62 in 2017) for second seats and one shilling (roughly £3.31 in 2017) for back seats. The Evesham Journal printed a very full report on both plays giving both the story of each play and a report on the performance of each member of the cast. As with “Bardell v Pickwick” there were no ladies in the cast so in “The Illustrious Stranger” a man played the part of the princess! (It was a non-speaking role). The E.J Report also says “the society is much indebted to Mr E.S.Ridsdale for the artistic skill and patience which he devoted to the work of stage decoration generally. His chef d’oevre however was the second scene in “The Illustrious Stranger” which on being revealed to view was loudly applauded”.