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About us

Spectacular professional productions for the people in and around Nottingham.

Founded in 1893 as one of the Nottingham Mechanics Institution’s social groups, The Nottingham Operatic Society has performed over 135 shows and concerts in all of the City’s famous venues. Since 1925, our spiritual home has been Nottingham’s wonderful Theatre Royal.

Past and current members of the Society have witnessed the birth of the modern musical. The Society started with comic opera and Gilbert and Sullivan, exploring the first English musicals, before all the classic shows of the golden age of Broadway. More recently, we have staged more modern shows from Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Frank Wildhorn, Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.

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We are dedicated to giving everyone an opportunity to enjoy the experience of performing or working on productions.

Learn more & Apply to join

“I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theatre is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture.”

— Laurence Olivier

Who Manages the Society?

We have been a registered charity since 1958, and are governed by a Board of Trustees, who are all members of the Society.

Charity Number: 256983

Our charitable purpose has remained constant since 1893 and we are passionate about supporting people to enjoy live theatre.

“To provide education and entertainment for members of the general public by giving a wide range of affordable, concessionary theatrical performances and concerts of music, drama and dance in the Nottingham area. To improve on performing or backstage skills for both amateur and professional members. Where possible to provide funds, time and performances to help charities.”

— our charitable purpose

Presidents & Committee

Featured

Caroline Harper

President & Vice-Chairman

Patrick Humphreys

Vice President

Alan Martin

Vice President

Simon Theobald

Chairman & Honorary Treasurer

Drew Dennis

Honorary Business Manager

Rosie Poesl

Honorary Secretary

Amanda Dixon-Smith

Marketing Coordinator & General Committee

Zak Charlesworth

Production Assistant & General Committee

Dan Armstrong

General Committee

Nick Smith

General Committee

Frank Nicholson

General Committee

Nathan Curzon

General Committee

Bara Erhayiem

General Committee

Our Directors

Each year, we appoint a Director, Musical Director and Choreographer to work with the Theatre Royal technical team and the Society to produce professional quality shows.

For our next musical, we will be working with David Covey, Morven Harrison and Justine Lee.

David Covey - Director

David studied at the Royal Academy of Music, 2003-2004, Post Graduate Diploma Musical Theatre. Bretton Hall 1998-2001 - BA Hons (First Class) Theatre Acting: Devised Performance.

He worked professionally as an Actor and Youth Director from 2004-2011. Since 2011, David has worked in a mainstream secondary school as Head of Creative Arts, Head of Year and is currently a SENDCO, overseeing the provision of students with special educational needs.

Directing Experience:

Nottingham Operatic Society - The Sound of Music and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat-

The Lace Market Theatre, Nottingham - Nell Gwyn

Ecclesbourne 6th Form Society - The Importance of Being Earnest, Bronte, Blood and Light, A Monster Calls, Antigone, Mary Shelley, Jane Eyre

The Ecclesbourne School Musical Theatre Company - Matilda Junior, The Sound of Music, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, West Side Story, Hello Dolly!, Me and My Girl, The Little Mermaid.

Stafford Gatehouse Youth Theatre - Annie, Oliver!, Smike, Guys and Dolls

Performance Experience:

Cameron Mackintosh 25th Anniversary Tour - Grantaire 1st cover/ Javert/Bishop 2nd cover. Les Misérables - James Powell & Laurence Connor

Bill Kenwright Ltd UK Tour - Simeon, Cover Jacob/Potipher. Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Henry Metcalf

Sheffield Theatres - Trinculo. Resuscitation Shakespeare - Sarah Gough

Camberley Theatre - Buttons. Cinderella - Nick Mowat

Cameron Mackintosh Her Majesty’s Theatre, London - M Andre (1st cover). Phantom of the Opera - Laurence Connor

Faceless Arts - Mordred. Enchanted - Janet Marshall

Twisting Yarn Bradford Alhambra - Greenleaf. Nimby - Keith Robinson

Walking Forward Productions - Algernon. Cat Ninelives in Deepest Trouble - Gavin Payne

Tall Stories - Bird & Dragon. Room on the Broom - Olivia Jacobs

Pele Productions The Cardiff Millenium Centre - Scarecrow. The Wizard of Oz - Simon Rawlings

Compass Theatre Co (UK Tour) - Yakov. The Seagull - Neil Sissons

Morven Harrison - Musical Director

Morven has a passion in particular for projects with large and complex vocal layerings and harmonies, and the development of the group sound to allow storytelling through group vocal emotion.

Musical Director:

Over 15 years’ experience as a Musical Director and Conductor, six of those with Nottingham Operatic. Conductor of recent large- scale pit orchestras and companies including Hunchback of Notre Dame (2022), Sound of Music (2019, full 32 piece orchestration on stage), Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (2018) and Into The Woods (2015). Production Locations include Nottingham Theatre Royal, Nottingham Concertt Hall, Nottingham Albert Hall, Loughborough Town Hall.

Vocal Director:

Morven is currently Vocal Director for Limelight Orchestra, varying from Classic Ibiza with 50 Piece Orchestra on the Festival Circuit to Classical Concerts such as DIVA and Bond in Concert. Multi-harmony vocal groups. Responsibilities for rehearsing, arrangements, sheet music prep and rehearsal tracks.

Other Vocal Directors including full time position as Assistant Artistic Director for Youth at Music for Everyone, teaching and conducting mass choirs of children and young adults throughout Nottingham.

Musician:

Over 15 years’ experience as a regular musician in orchestra pits, both on reeds (flute/piccolo/clarinet/bass clarinet/saxes), keyboards (mainstage) and bass guitar across the East Midlands. Excellent relationships with a variety of professional musicians to allow for the best quality of sound to suit any production.

Vocalist:

Principal Musical Theatre includes Bakers’ Wife in ‘Into The Woods’, Florence in ‘Chess’, Cathy in ‘Last 5 Years’, Lucy Harris in ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ and Kate Monster in ‘Avenue Q’. Current Principal Solo Vocalist for Limelight Orchestra, both classic and modern; performed for approximately 21,000 ticket holders across the 2023 Festival Period. Guest Vocalist for concerts with Nottingham Philharmonic and Debut Theatre.

Director:

Directing Credits include My Fair Lady for Nottingham Operatic, Theatre Royal, and Sweeney Todd at the Nottingham Arts Theatre.

Arranger:

Creator of both Vocalist and Orchestral Arrangements, more recently for Limelight Orchestra.

Justine Lee - Movement Consultant

Justine has been working professionally for fourteen years as both a choreographer and performer. She trained at Arts Ed and the AMTA, graduating in 2011 as the recipient of the Dance Award. She is now co-principal of the Lisa Gail Theatre School, resident choreographer for TaleGate Theatre Productions and Tap teacher at Studio 79 and EPA.

Choreography credits include Curtains (West Bridgford Operatic Society), Guys and Dolls (Nottingham Operatic Society), Goose (National Tour and Edinburgh Festival Fringe), Neverland (Palace Theatre, Mansfield), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Nottingham Operatic Society), The Queen’s Knickers (UK Tour and West End), Practically Perfect (Palace Theatre, Mansfield), Different Class (Barons Court Theatre), On Paper (Young Actors Theatre, Islington), The Visit (New Wimbledon Youth Theatre), Cyrano of Brixton (Brockley Jack Theatre).

As a performer, Justine has appeared in over twenty professional productions including The Queen’s Knickers (UK Tour and West End), Father Christmas Needs A Wee! (Swindon Arts Centre), Father Christmas Comes Up Trumps (Edinburgh Festival Fringe), The Giant’s Loo Roll (UK Tour), Fifty Days of Grey (UK Tour), Honk! (The Lost Theatre).

Nottingham Operatic Society is a member of NODA

Our Shows