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A Brief History of Gosforth Theatre Company and 43 Society
In 1943 a group of friends began to meet in wartime Gosforth to read plays in each other's homes. From these readings an amateur drama society was born known as the "Gosforth 43 Society".
The 43 Society's first public performance was 'Other Peoples Houses' by Lynne Dexter presented in September 1945 in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Gosforth. Rehearsals were held in the local A.R.P. Headquarters.
In 1950 productions moved to the recently completed Central Hall that had been built as Gosforth's War memorial.
Perhaps the high point of the 43 Society came in the early to mid 1950s when the Society had nearly 200 members and a full social calendar, including an annual dinner dance. This was also a period of cutting edge creativity that saw productions of Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' in 1955 and Bertolt Brecht's 'Mother Courage' in 1956; this was the first ever UK amateur production of a Brecht play. Permission to stage 'Mother Courage' was obtained from Brecht in person shortly before his death.
There were however 'political' problems. The Society could afford to hire external professional producers but there were within the Society people who wanted the opportunity to produce and others who felt that the Society should not bring in outside producers. Surviving newsletters and committee minutes show that this issue festered for some two years until the faction opposed to outside producers won and took control of the committee.
The Society suffered from the lack of a rehearsal venue and storage facilities; at one time the wardrobe was stored in the attic of the County Hotel. In 1962 the clubhouse, a large Edwardian brick built semi with garden, at 44 Salter's Road Gosforth was purchased. The clubhouse was to become a great assett although maintenance costs were to become a burden.
During the 1960s and 1970s the Society continued to bring quality drama to the people of Gosforth although contemporary drama was now rarely seen. The Society acquired a regular following of 'Patrons' who bought season tickets year after year and always got their names listed in the programme. The average age of the Patrons increased as the years went by and their preference for whodunits and costume dramas was reflected in the repertoire.
Occasionally a new producer would get something a bit more daring past the committee. The reaction of the patrons to "The Killing of Sister George" in 1968 or "Entertaining Mr Sloane" in 1974 is not recorded.
At Christmas 1972 a new producer was allowed to present his own adaptation of the Cinderella story. The committee were so appalled when they saw the result that they refunded the Patrons ticket money and sent them all a letter of apology. The producer and seven members of his cast promptly resigned from the Society.
The Central Hall was destroyed by fire and Gosforth Civic Hall has been home to all of our productions since 1974.
In the whole history of the 43 Society not one of the many stage-struck youngsters who graced its productions ever went on to achieve fame and fortune as an actor. However in March 1966 a young man called Mark Knopfler played Arthur Miller in a production of Eugene O'Neill's 'Ah Wilderness'.
In 1983 the Society's 40th jubilee was marked with a production of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" directed by Mary Taylor. Mary Taylor also collected together hundreds of old photographs, programmes and other material to produce an archive documenting every 43 Society production to date. This archive has enabled this brief history to be written.
In the late Eighties and Nineties audiences declined, as did the number of active members and the burden of putting on four sometimes five productions a year fell to the same few willing hands. Inevitably resources were stretched and quality sometimes suffered leading to a further decline in audiences.
At the 1998 AGM a resolution was passed to re-launch the club with a change of name to Gosforth Theatre Company.
The 1998 AGM also resolved to reduce the number of productions to three per year.
Gosforth Theatre Company successfully presented three productions each year from 1998 to 2006; go to Photo Archive for details of all of the Gosforth Theatre Company's presentations. Initially club finances improved and there was a small rise in the active membership.
2003 saw the 60th anniversary of the company. The anniversary was marked in style with a gala celebration in Gosforth Civic Hall.
At the 2003 AGM a decision was taken to look into the possibility of taking advantage of the rising property prices in the Gosforth area by selling the clubhouse.
In November 2004 a new departure was the production of a traditional pantomime 'Jack and the Beanstalk', (largely for financial reasons). Although financially succesful the script left a lot to be desired and the company decided that a better script could be written in house without having to pay royalties. 'Dick Whittington', produced in November 2005 was written by Pat Croft, Angela Scrutton and Rebecca Walker under the pseudonym "Peta Amberg"
In 2006 the club formed an alliance with Brunton Park Community Centre and made a joint bid for lottery funding which, if successful, would have seen the refurbishment of the community centre and the building of a new wing to house the GTC. The bid was thought to be a strong one because of the matching funding from the sale of the clubhouse. But the bid was knocked back at the first hurdle.
This blow, combined with an inability to mount any productions in 2007, resulted in the 2007 AGM held on 28th June voting to disband after 64 years of the Gosforth 43 Society and Gosforth Theatre Company.
The club is now in the hands of the trustees who are tasked with charitably disposing of the club's assets (including the club house).