Croft House Operatic Society was originally founded in
1902 as part of the Croft House Settlement, whose original premises were
in the heart of Sheffield in Garden Street.
The aim of the Settlement was to help the young people
of what was then a slum area of Sheffield, by providing 'Education and Recreation.'
From humble beginnings when productions were originally staged at Garden
Street, the Society grew and their audience widened, so much so, that they
had to move to the Temperance Hall (on the site of the later Sheffield Playhouse).
In 1920 the Cutler's Hall was booked for a performance
of 'Merrie England' and the show was such a success the Company finally
moved to the Lyceum Theatre in 1921 and this was there home for 10 years.
From 1931 and then continuing after the Second World War most of the Company
productions were held at the Empire Theatre until finally in 1960 the Society
returned to the Sheffield Lyceum.
In 1969 the Lyceum closure led Croft House to move. Croft's
1970 production of 'Virginia' was held at The Montgomery Theatre, then from
1971 to 1990 the resided at the Sheffield City Hall. Finally they returning
to the Lyceum in 1991 with a production of 'Hello Dolly'.
Over the years Croft has been fortunate to have worked
with a number of talented producers, choreographers, and musical directors.
For many years Laurie Lingard was the producer, assisted by a talented choreographer
by the name of Constance Grant.
The family connection with Constance Grant continued,
as her daughter Judith Silvester took over the role of choreographer and
finally, in 1979 took on the additional role of producer.
Croft has also been fortunate in their musical directors,
including Douglas Sadler, Leslie Rew, John Bonner and now the talented John
Higgins.
Brenda Scaife.
In
to the 21st Century…
With such solid foundations beneath us we were off to
a flying start in the new millennium.
We still perform each year at The Lyceum Theatre and have enjoyed presenting
shows that were new to us and to Sheffield audiences, as well as few old
favourites that we thought weren’t ready for retirement just yet.
Our company has welcomed many new members and goes from strength to strength
as each of them brings their own skills and talents to add to those of the
more established members of the team.
This season we’re lucky enough to have secured the rights to “The
Scarlet Pimpernel”. This is a local premier and one that
we hope will be well supported by our audiences. We have a fabulous cast
in place, who are all working hard in preparation for this very demanding
piece.
This will be director Jeremy Tustin’s 5th year with us and we know
that he has been hard at work researching this exciting project. Joining
Jeremy for the first time as Musical Director with Croft is Nigel Gyte.
Nigel is a most welcome addition to our team bringing with him a wealth
of experience and enormous enthusiasm.
So we look forward to many more challenges over the coming years and hope
that whether you’re part of the company or part of our audiences that
you continue to enjoy the “The Croft Experience”.
