Tonight’s the night!
The surroundings are different – after all it’s a dramatic concert staging, rather than a full show at Carnegie – but the quality of the singing and acting is “superb, unparalleled” to borrow the words of King Gama (Gordon Horne), seen here exchanging views with Florian (Matthew Sielewicz-Stanhope). Gama gets an uncertain welcome at Hildebrand’s court, but you’ll be “treated as an honoured guest” if you come to see us tonight (Gillespie Memorial Church, Dunfermline) or tomorrow (Limekilns Parish Church). Details at this link. You don’t need to have pre-booked – you can part with £10 at the door – and we’ll guarantee you’ll have “nothing whatever to grumble at” by the end of Act III.
[Thanks to Lady Blanche (Liz Landsman) for the photograph]
2022 AGM
The 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Dunfermline Gilbert and Sullivan Society will be held on Wednesday 18 May 2022 at 7.30pm in person at Limekilns Parish Church and also via Zoom. The link will be emailed to members. The agendas may be downloaded from this link.
Recovering connections
Tickets are selling fast for the Kirkcaldy Orchestral Society (KOS) spring “Recovering Connections” concert at the Old Kirk, Kirkcaldy, on Sunday 20 March at 3:00pm. The programme of music is that originally planned for the spring concert in 2020, and includes Danzon No. 2 by Arturo Marquez, Concerto for Orchestra (Old Kirk Concerto No. 2) by John Gourlay, Benjamin Britten’s Five Courtly Dances from Gloriana and a wind band presentation of the march HRH Duke of Cambridge by Malcolm Arnold.
All tickets must be booked and paid for in advance of this event as KOS will not be selling tickets on the day, so buy your tickets now from Ellen Patrick.
More details on the flier linked to the image.
A dramatic concert staging
7:30pm on Friday 13 May at Gillespie Memorial Church, Dunfermline
2:00pm and 7:30pm on Saturday 14 May at Limekilns Parish Church
You’ll enjoy watching and listening to our chorus and principals in what will be much more than just a concert performance of this rarely-heard work, which will be directed by Rae Lamond and with Willie Campbell conducting.
Tickets are just £10 (£5 for children) from members or our ticket hot-line (07703 483083) or email ticketsales@dgass.org.uk. Seats won’t be reserved, so we’d encourage you to come early (doors will open 30 minutes before the show starts), especially if you want to buy tickets at the door.
Show postponement
The rehearsals for Princess Ida have been really enjoyable, and all the participants have been looking forward to the show taking place in February. However, with Covid infection rates still increasing and Government advice being that no more than three households should mix socially, it doesn’t seem sensible to continue face-to-face rehearsals. Having to miss an unknown number of rehearsals at such a critical stage in the show’s preparation – only seven weeks to opening night – means that there would be a real risk of the show not reaching peak performance standard so, regretfully, the Committee have decided that we should postpone the show scheduled for 18–19 February 2022.
Our production director has been tasked with negotiating alternative dates with Carnegie Hall, so please watch this website for news of the new date for our production of Princess Ida and a revised schedule for rehearsals.
RIP Geoff
We were saddened at a recent rehearsal to learn of the sudden and unexpected death on 29 November 2021, aged 76, of Geoff Strong, a long-standing member who was one of our Princess Ida team. Our chair, Morag Riley, writes:
Geoff Strong joined DGASS in 1990 and his first performance was HMS Pinafore. Since then he has sung in every show the society has put on, as well as many concerts and carol-singing. He was truly a chorus man, putting his heart and soul into every performance. His stage presence was exuberant, to say the least.
But Geoff was more than that. As Publicity Manager, he was the face of DGASS throughout the years from the days when we would take part in the annual Hobbies Exhibition in the Glen Pavilion, to more recent promotions around Dunfermline, including at the Kingsgate shopping centre. So many people have been delighted to be serenaded by Geoff as he was publicising our latest show. Many were won over by his infectious good humour and encouraged to buy tickets, or even to join the society.
Actually, Geoff was liable to burst into song at the slightest provocation, not only G&S, but maybe something from The Desert Song. He would do this in any location from street to church. This is a memory common even to people who had only recently met him.
If you were new to the Society, Geoff would be the first to greet you and introduce you around. You never felt a stranger when he was there. He was interested in people, and always made a point of finding out about you, remembering your story too. Even those whose only interaction with Geoff was over Zoom were charmed with his quirky show-related artefacts.
Geoff will be missed by us all, and he has left a hole that will be difficult to fill. So many members have fond memories of being on stage with him. He was a one off. Just being around him made you feel happy. I’d like to think that being around us made him happy too. RIP Geoff – we will miss you.
The headline image comes from our 2020 show programme. Here are some more images of Geoff:
2020: receiving his NODA 30-year silver bar from Stuart McCue-Dick
Rehearsal cancellation
From our Secretary:
NODA advice is to cancel rehearsals that are this side of Christmas so we, in common with many other groups, are reluctantly cancelling this evening’s rehearsal. Sorry about the short notice!
We intend to return to rehearsal on Wednesday 5 January, but you will receive further updates. Meantime look at Rae’s videos on Facebook. Please practise all your moves. Get your vocal score out and practise the music too. Principals practise your dialogue!
Meanwhile, have a lovely Christmas and New Year! Stay safe and protect your loved ones.
Next appearance
Your next chance to see the Society on stage at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline will be on 19–21 February 2026 in a sparkling production of Strictly Patience.
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Instagram
