The society was established in 1892 and except for periods during the Boer War, the First and Second World Wars, and the COVID pandemic, has performed every year since. Although no shows were produced during the wars, the society was active performing concerts for the Red Cross.

For many years our home was The Queens Theatre, Burslem, but in 1998 , just before we opened with ”Crazy For You”, the ceiling collapsed and the theatre was closed. Within a week we moved everything into “The Royal “, a lovely old traditional theatre in Hanley. Since, we have played in all the local theatres in what is now called the Cultural Centre of the Potteries. Members of the society were invited to meet the Queen when, after its refurbishment, she opened “The Regent”, the main venue there.

This company likes a challenge and we faced one when playing a major musical, “Man of La Mancha” in the round, at the New Victoria Theatre - first for the theatre and a first for us. This was very well received and we returned again with’ Cabaret’, ‘Oklahoma’ and ‘Damn Yankees’.

Our History

Over the years we have been given many NODA awards for our productions and were the winners of the International Festival of Musicals at the Buxton Opera House in 1997 with ‘’Me and My Girl”. Over the years we have received many NODA awards the most recent was for the West Midlands Best Show “Sister Act" in 2015. We have on many occasions presented premier amateur performances of newly released shows, always to great acclaim and always of the highest standard. The society is always on the lookout for new, modern, different and exciting shows to perform.

Every year, several of our young members move on to careers in theatre. From the past, the most well known are Robbie Williams, Jonathan Wilkes, Anthea and Wendy Turner, Simon Bishop, Tim Churchill, John Cumberlidge and Gordon Alcock. More recently, we have brother and sister Sam and Charlotte O’Rourke both playing in the West End

Our Committee
Supporting your theatre community

Our governing committee exists to ensure that our musical theatre charity thrives, both artistically and financially. Made up of dedicated volunteers, the committee works tirelessly to oversee key decisions, from funding and productions to admin and promotional activity, ensuring that we continue to bring high-quality theatre to our audiences. We work to keep the organization transparent, inclusive, and forward-thinking—so that every member has a voice and every production has the support it needs to shine. Together, we make musical theatre happen!