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 Martins Bank Society of the Arts (Music Section) in
Trial by Jury by Gilbert and Sullivan
Staged: 20th and 21th May
1947 at the YMCA Theatre Birkenhead
Sep2
To begin with, Martins Bank Society of the Arts runs on the principle
of “a smile, a song, and a recitation”. Split three ways, the various
singers, dancers and actors, and budding artists each have their own
“section” of the society in which to operate.
Within a few short years, the Operatic Society will emerge triumphant
from this arrangement, the acting being taken on by the various groups of
regional players, and the art being catered for by an annual arts and crafts
show at Head Office.
Trial by Jury is amongst the first operatic productions to be
staged post-war by the Society of the
Arts. Thanks to the generosity of the
late Beryl Creer, we are able to provide the image below from a photograph in
her own personal archive. (At this time as Beryl Evans), she can be seen as
the third lady in a wedding dress from the left! In 1947, Martins Bank Magazine is on hand,
(just as it will be for the next twenty-two years) to provide reviews and
write ups of some of the most ambitious amateur operatic and dramatic
productions in the country…
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 ON May 20th and 21st, the audience assembled in
the Y.M.C.A. Theatre, at Birkenhead, enjoyed a very spirited performance of “Trial by Jury”, the
contribution of the Music Section to
the evening's entertainment. The singing and acting were of a high standard
throughout, and surely the cast owed
much of their success to the fact that they themselves entered the spirit of the play with such evident
enjoyment. The Usher (Mr. R.
Webster) provoked much mirth in his efforts to keep order in court, while
Mr J. Barlow, as the Defendant,
delighted everyone by his fine tenor voice and polished acting. The
Counsel for the Plaintiff (Mr. A. Pope) sang and played his part well,
while his client (Miss Mary Nelson)
in her white bridal dress won all hearts by her charming performance. Mary
had the ill-luck to lose her voice
a day or two before the show and she was unable to sing properly at either
performance.
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The whole company (no individual names provided)
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Muriel Jones, the First Bridesmaid, doubled the part so far as the
singing was concerned, and did
it extremely well, many people being unaware of the difficulty. The benevolent old judge (Mr Howard
Venn) presided over the court with a rollicking good humour, and sang his
part with Great zest,
being ably supported by an excellent chorus of Gentlemen of the
Jury, Barristers, Attorneys and a
very gay and spirited Public.
Special mention should be made of the eight Bridesmaids, whose delightfully pretty dresses added much to the
gaiety of the scene. The
accompanists, Messrs. H. F. R. Boothman and Percy Jones, carried out their
rather exacting role with great skill,
and gave an excellent support to the singers. We feel that all who saw this production will
agree that the Conductor (Mr. Spencer Hayes) and the Producer (Mrs. R. W. Hall) are to be congratulated on a
very high standard of achievement.
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