Description
[004872] [Amateur Dramatics in Acle] The Acle Amateur Operatic, Dramatic and Choral Society – Small Archive. Various: Various, First Edition. Various. Various. Ephemera. Good. Small archive of three posters, eight programmes (excluding a few duplicates), a couple of documents, and circa eighty-five photographs, various sizes, places and dates, but between 1929 and 1939
Generally in decent condition, the posters have several small chips and tears, with a few repairs, the programmes are lightly browned, lightly rubbed, with staples rusted. The programme for H.M.S. Pinafore has been used as a template for a later performance of Ruddigore, with corrections / updates in pen throughout. The photographs are slightly curled, but are otherwise fairly clean. The posters advertise a general entertainment evening, a grand concert, and a performance of Pearl the Fishermaiden
The programmes include examples for Pearl the Fishermaiden, Billee Taylor, Ruddigore, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, The Yeoman of the Guard, and Iolanthe
The costs for the performance of The Yeoman of the Guard, and Iolanthe are included amongst the documents, with a few newspaper cuttings
The photographs include several of the performances of H.M.S. Pinafore, The Yeoman of the Guard, and several larger format ones of The Mikado; many of the photographs have the names of the characters, and of the actors playing the roles to the reverse
An interesting collection illuminating the inter-war cultural experience in the provinces. From the photographs it is clear that a great deal of work (and probably money) went into the costumes, particularly for the The Mikado, but one of the documents is a copy of a letter to the National Operatic and Dramatic Association in 1935, stating that the group had lost both its producer and conductor, and its future was uncertain, and they were therefore unsure whether they would be able to pay their annual subscription to the association. We have evidence here of course that they did continue, at least until 1939, when other considerations no doubt came to the fore
