On Friday 11 July 1947, a public meeting was convened in the Mackay Town Hal, ‘for the purpose of forming a dramatic society for Mackay’. Those present at the meeting included:
Chair: Ald I Wood (Mayor)
A/Sec: Mr W A Bell, Secretary. of Mackay Advisory Committee
Mr D Dunstan, District Organiser, Board of Adult Education, addressed the meeting
Committee nominations (for 11 members): Mr A Morrison, Mr J Mulherin, Mr I Wood, Mr W A Bell, Miss H Barron, Miss D Adams, Mr J Lavola, Mr Richard, Mr Kilpatrick, Mr R Best, Miss R Clark, Alderman Galletly, Mr C F Bagley, Mr McDonald, Mrs Vaughan, Mr Porteous
Production, Casting & Selection Committee: Mesdames Trodson, Beale, Rogers & Davies
The membership fee was to be ₤1/1/- (one guinea) per year non-acting, 10/6 year active members, 5/- year active members under 18. The new society would be governed by a Managing Committee of 8, answerable to 3 Trustees ('3 men of integrity'). This Managing Committee would oversight a Committee of Direction comprising 3 members responsible for 1) Orchestras, 2) Casting, and 3) Production.
A later public meeting in the Mackay Town Hall, on 27 July 1947, was addressed by Mr Graham McDonald, who stated that plays should be selected according to the following criteria:
'Plays must be sound but of entertainment value, authors such as G.B.S., Noel Coward, C Twilight Group, Ivor Novello, not farces or melodramas, but one to make the audience laugh or weep.'
The Minutes of a meeting held on 23 September 1947 indicate that the new dramatic society was off to a flying start, with 3 one-act plays in rehearsal:
The Dear Departed
The Monkey’s Paw
The Spinsters of Luske
and subsequent productions over the following decades reflect a wide variety of offerings to the theatre-going public. The list is by no means exhaustive, and there are still gaps and question marks where the dates are uncertain (hopefully these will be filled in by future visitors to this website).
Past productions 1940s - 1950s
Past productions 1960s - 1970s
Past productions 1980s- 1990s
Past productions 2000 -
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