HAODS - For the best entertainment in live theatre, together with top quality drama - amdram at its best, Henley Operatic & Dramatic Society has it all. Performing at the Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames, NODA award winning HAODS musicals and plays are renowned for excellence.

The first Rehearsal of Raffles of Singapore was a Great Success! On Tuesday 6th July 2010 the whole cast got together for the first time to meet each other and to find out how Raffles rehearsal run will progress. Julie Rymer, the Director, outlined how the rehearsals will develop and discussed the background of the play and its characters. She then let everyone know the changes that had been made in the production team line-up. It was announced that the new choreographer is going to be David Parsonson, and the new Musical Director will be Tim Cumper. Julie Huntington (HAODS Chairwoman) also gave the cast lots of exciting news on the publicity events that the society will be involved in during the run up to first night. HAODS is putting on the UK Premieire of Raffles, so it is up to us all to promote the show and get the public interested and involved. More information on these events will be announced as it becomes available.

After all the general information had been discussed, the cast read the first act of the play. It gave everyone their first real opportunity to become accustomed to the script, and to start to work as a cast. The next full meeting will be on Tuesday 27th July, when Act 2 will be read, and further information on the progression of the production will be announced. This production is such an exciting opportunity for the society, and the cast and the people behind the scenes, are already working extremely hard to make sure that it is going to be a success. For more information on this show, and to see the Cast List, please visit the Raffles page on this website.

An important announcement - We have a new Stage Whispers  Editor! She is young, vibrant, and wants to improve Stage Whispers, your quarterly newsletter.

So, a few words about our new Stage Whispers editor. Samantha has been performing since she was six and, as well as HAODS, she is currently a member of Reading Operatic Society, Mostly G & S and The Milestone Players. Recent roles include Mimi in ‘Allo ‘Allo, Venus in La Belle Helene, Macbeth in FAHEWIGS Macbeth and Mae in The Pajama Game. She was recently very excited to be playing the flirty and fun-loving seventeen-year-old Maisie (no age jokes please) in HAODS The Boy Friend which is also one of her favourite shows. She would like to point out that in real life she is not at all like flirtatious Maisie when it comes to romance, but most people who know her seem to disagree… (Samantha is the best thing that happened to Stage Whispers since its creation - says the Web  Editor. )  Now a word from Samantha herself:

"Hi there, my name is Samantha Fields and I am the current editor of Stage Whispers. I joined HAODS in 2009 for The Boyfriend as this is my favourite musical, and I have found it such a welcoming and fun society to belong to. I started performing at the age of six, and my involvement with theatre seems to grow each year. I am currently a member of Reading Operatic Society and Caversham Park Theatre as well as HAODS, and I do on average four to six shows a year. I also sing with my dad and my partner Kevin as the trio Past and Present, take jazz and salsa dance classes and attempt to play the various musical instruments that live in my front room. Writing is another passion of mine, and I have a background in Journalism which is why I volunteered to be the new editor of Stage Whispers. I am really excited about taking this on and I am looking forward to (and a little scared of) the new challenges it will bring."

The year is racing on, tempus fugit and all that! Summer is here... and before we know it, the Regatta and Festivals, Henley Music and Fringe, will be upon us. The Boyfriend is over - great fun for the cast and very well received by the audiences - a big hand to director Ray Burton for that and now on to Raffles of Singapore. It seemed such a long way off when we told Ian Senior and Richard Cleghorn-Brown in 2008 that we would take on the show in November 2010, but now, the auditions are upon us and publicity is in the planning. Check out the music from the show on the Raffles page. The songs were sung for us by two professional West End singers and sound fantastic. More about this later.

Because time flies so quickly, it is important to make sure that an excellent programme of shows is in the pipeline for the future and I am sure that you have all noticed on the website that the line-up for 2011 is Follies in the Spring and Little Shop of Horrors in the Autumn. So, I am delighted to be able to announce that Judy Yeates, a long-standing member of HAODS with vast experience of large scale productions will be directing Follies, and Lloyd White who raised the bar with his brilliant production of West Side Story for us a couple of years ago will be directing Shop of Horrors. They will be announcing their production teams very shortly, so keep your eyes on the web site.

Incidentally, the more people who hit the web-site the better as it keeps our profile up on Google, which will encourage other people to click on too!

Julie Huntington
Chairman

It is not often that an offer comes along that you cannot refuse, but just like buses, two have turned up together for Henley Operatic and Dramatic Society. The first opportunity arose Just last week, when part of the production team for HAODS autumn show, Raffles of Singapore, which has been designated as a "special project" by the Society, accepted an invitation to meet Lord David Holmes at his charming London studio in Primrose Hill. Lord David, who modestly requested to be called simply David, has a wealth of experience in the Far East and with Singapore in particular. His most memorable work in England was for McCallan Whisky, designing the poster campaign which appeared on seventy foot hoardings all over the country.

In Singapore, he has worked closely with Raffles Hotel, appearing in many books and publications about the hotel, affectionately termed as a "resident". He currently has a set of postcards depicting many different aspects of Singapore and other aspects of his work, on sale at this world famous hostelry. However, the musical is not about the hotel, but about the British statesman and visionary, Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (6 July 1781 - 5 July 1826) best known in the Far East for his founding of the city of Singapore. Often described as the "Father of Singapore", he was heavily involved in the conquest of the Indonesian island of Java from Dutch and French military forces during the Napoleonic Wars and contributed immensely to the expansion of the British Empire.

NATIONAL OPERATIC AND DRAMATIC ASSOCIATION
LONDON REGION

Society            ;    Henley Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society
Production    ;    "THE BOY FRIEND"
Date                  ;    Friday 23rd April 2010
Venue              ;    Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames
Report by      ;    Henry Hawes - NODA Representative - Area 13

On Friday 23rd April 2010, I was invited to review H.O.A.D.S latest production "The Boyfriend" at the Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames. This is a delightful English musical which recalls the 1920's perfectly. Wherever the "Boyfriend" has played it has always scored its greatest successes when played as it is written - as a fondly written 'new 1920's musical', rather that a campy parody which so often happens in this day and age. H.A.O.D.S. did not fall into this trap with the director ensuring it was played as written with good staging and movement and some excellent characterisations being brought out with a well defined 1920's stylisation sustained throughout. 

Claire Wallis - (HORTENSE) - A delightfully suggestive performance with a French accent well sustained. A good characterisation with good movement about the stage area and a well sung 'Nicer in Nice' - Well done.

It was just about a year ago that I made a casual comment, either during or after Fiddler On The Roof, that it would be nice to direct The Boyfriend at the Kenton. I was very flattered when I was approached soon after that comment by the then HAODS Chairman, Terry Rymer to consider actually turning my thoughts into a reality. I accepted the challenge and so the journey began.
Last October I started to put things into motion, organising and appointing firstly the rehearsal pianist, the production team, followed closely by the lighting, stage manager, wardrobe, props etc. I had never been so organised! I made two or three presentations to the Society, followed by a workshop which involved all the production team, then finally, auditions were held last November.

Auditions, I feel, are always quite interesting as you never know who is going to turn up and one should always keep an open mind and be prepared for the unexpected – and in this case, the unexpected was the lack of young men! We were able to cast the female roles and the more mature roles, but could not find a Tony or a Bobby or all the young French men- and Christmas was fast approaching. Then the dreaded “white stuff” appeared just before and again after Christmas which hung around for some time. This caused great disruption to everyone’s lives let alone our rehearsal schedule – and still no young men to fill the roles!

As time went by I realised that it was perhaps because The Boyfriend is not rock and roll and perhaps not such an attractive proposition that the young men did not appear. Also with financial climate as it is, people were concentrating on their day jobs rather than taking on the responsibility of a show. Finally, with just six weeks to go, we managed to secure a complete cast and we all breathed a sigh of relief. I must congratulate and compliment the patience and hard work that all the cast, especially the newcomers maintained throughout the sometimes difficult rehearsal period.

The Kenton Theatre is the fourth oldest working theatre in the country. A Regency gem, set in the heart of Henley-on- Thames, it has a warm, friendly, cosy intimacy that makes you want to come back. Since its rescue in the 1960s, the theatre has been in the hands of the Charity Commissioners, who agreed to allow it to be run as a theatre, provided that HAODS were involved. For many years, anyone who was on the HAODS committee was automatically a director of the theatre, too. However, this arrangement became increasingly untenable as the theatre became more and more active, so late in the last century, a new and dynamic management company took over and set their sights on the freehold of the property in order to ensure the future of the theatre. Late last year, the Kenton for Keeps campaign was launched and I am delighted to announce that Board of Trustees have entered into an option to purchase agreement to buy The Kenton. They have just six months from 26 January 2010 to raise £350,000 to secure the freehold. Run entirely by volunteers, the theatre aims to provide enjoyment and opportunity for all, whether as a patron, treading the boards, or working behind the scenes or front of house. If you enjoy our theatre, and you have some time on your hands, why not volunteer ... or even contribute to the Kenton for Keeps Campaign. Now to our current show.

The Boyfriend was originally written in 1952 for The Players’ Theatre Club as a pastiche of musical shows of the 1920’s and only lasted an hour and a half, but when the curtain fell on the first performance, it was obvious to the author, Sandy Wilson, that he had created something which somehow had to last longer than the scheduled three weeks. So, after it was expanded to a full length show, It opened at the Embassy Theatre on December 1st 1953 for the Christmas season to a unanimously enthusiastic press. The next day The Players' Theatre were deluged with bids and decided to accept Sir Bronson Albery's offer of Wyndham's Theatre where The Boyfriend opened under their management on January 14th, 1954. It has been an enduring vehicle for delightful songs such as All I Want is A Room in Bloomsbury, It’s Never Too Late To fall In Love and of course, the show-stopper Poor Little Pierrette – which I have the honour to sing in this production. Despite early casting difficulties, with the usual AMDRAM problem of the lack of young men, we are delighted with the production and can promise you a fun-packed evening. We have all laughed so much during rehearsals as Director Raymond Burton has concentrated on binging out all the comedy in the script. We hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed the journey to this our first production of 2010.

The Boyfriend was originally written in 1952 for The Players' Theatre Club as a pastiche of musical shows of the 1920's and only lasted an hour and a half. But when the curtain fell on the first performance, it was obvious to the author, Sandy Wilson, that he had created something which somehow had to last longer than the scheduled three weeks. So, after it was expanded to a full length show, It opened at the Embassy Theatre on December 1st 1953 for the Christmas season to a unanimously enthusiastic Press, and the next day The Players' Theatre, deluged with bids, decided to accept Sir Bronson Albery's offer of Wyndham's Theatre where "The Boyfriend" opened under their management on January 14th, 1954.

The story is the simplest, featuring Polly Browne, the original "poor little rich girl", and her school chums, who are dreaming about boys at Madame Dubonnet's finishing school, The Villa Caprice, that they are attending on the outskirts of Nice, and the Carnival ball that is to be held that evening. However, Polly's father, wealthy and widowed Percival Browne, has forbidden her to date for fear that all boys are after is her money, so Polly has invented an imaginary boyfriend that writes to her from Paris. As the hour of the ball draws nearer, Polly is in a panic as she will have to produce her Parisian boyfriend sooner or later or be proven a liar. A chance encounter with a delivery boy could be the answer to her dilemma, but all is not what it seems to be and Polly gets herself further and further into a muddle.

Polly finds an unexpected ally in Head Mistress Madame Dubonnet, who is not above dreaming of lovers herself, for when she gets a letter to say that Polly's father will be visiting that very morning, she begins to wonder if he is handsome and rich and available! Of course, everything works out perfectly in the end for everyone, especially Polly and her imaginary boyfriend, who turns out to be very real indeed. With such delightful songs as I Could Be Happy With You and A Room in Bloomsbury, this show is perfect family entertainment.

The Boyfriend runs from April 16th,17th, 18th & 22nd, 23rd, 24th April 2010.

Evening performances commence at 7.45pm
Matinee performance only on Sunday 18th April 2010 at 4.00pm

Kenton Theatre, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2BP.
Telephone 01491 575698 from 5th April.

Rubber Chickens, Sexy Older Woman and Toyboys were the subject of some of the songs and poems presented at HAODS first Open Mic night, which was a resounding artistic success. So much so, that artists all promised to return and bring their friends!

Performers included the ever popular Lynn Butler who is a familiar face on the Blue Grass and Country circuit, and Tim Balmford of "Bleak Angel" . Graham Luke and daughter Carys from Reading delighted us with origninal compositions and Nico wowed us with his fancy fingerwork and unique singing style. Then there was our own Wendy Huntley who performed some of her award winning poetry and Howard Timberlake who delighted the audience not only with his singing and playing but also with his friendly banter. All the artists agreed that the Green Room was a great venue and that once the word got about, more and more performers would want to come and do their stuff.

Mike Rowbottom, he of "Flasher's Mac" fame, compered the evening and indeed, kicked off the artistic offerings with three of his own compositions, including the ever popular "Rubber Chicken". Great fun was had by all and a follow up evening is planned, this time a fish and chip supper will be included in the entrance ticket. So watch this space for the date of the next evening - and tell your friends - we had a ball!

The evening was organised by Daisy O'Halloran, with lots of help from Tim Balmford, Tom O'Halloran and Nicoletta Hartin. For any further information about the next Open Mic night, please contact Daisy here.

Check out the clip on Youtube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvnuf35VbR4    

Click Read more to see the videos embedded on the site itself.

Newer members of the society and visitors to the website are probably not aware that in the late 1960's, after a period of professional management, the theatre which originally opened as such in 1805, was in severe financial difficulties and in danger of closure. The members of HAODS at that time (some pictured right)  agreed to take over the running of the theatre and guaranteed payment of the outstanding debts. For many years thereafter the committee of HAODS also ran the theatre, although over the years other local residents who were not on HAODS committee became involved in the theatre management . Even now there is an overlap between the two organisations and at the present time three members of the HAODS committee are also involved as Trustees or managers of the theatre. Many other HAODS members are of course involved both as Friends of the Theatre and as Volunteers ,either Front of House or backstage.

The Campaign has already begun with some welcome generosity following a Celebrity Luncheon, With A Song In My Heart with Vince Hill, Fashion Show, Kenton Strictly Dance-athon and An Evening with Pam Ayres.  Pam Ayres supports The Kenton on BBC TV

Please help us to preserve this jewel in the crown of Henley.