About East Surrey Operatic Society:
The East Surrey Operatic Society was founded in 1907
and, true to its "Operatic" title, performed
the light operatic repertoire of the day – Gilbert
and Sullivan; Léhar, Strauss, German, Offenbach
and so on. With a virtually unbroken run (save for the
war years), ESOS continued to entertain Redhill and
Reigate audiences since its inception; first at the
Market Hall, Redhill and now at the Harlequin Theatre.
For a brief period (in the early 1980s) we were kindly
"hosted" by Dorking Dramatic and Operatic
Society at the Dorking Halls following the demolition
of the Market Hall and before the opening of the Harlequin
Theatre.
Battshill House
- The location for the very first ESOS rehearsals
- Picture courtesy of the current owner
ESOS was quick to embrace the new "book-musicals"
that were being created from the 1940s. These shows
(where songs became an integral feature plot development
rather than merely songs-within-a-show) reached their
maturity in Rodgers & Hammerstein with their groundbreaking
Oklahoma! With this new departure, from the late 1950s
ESOS''s staple fare now became the "American Musical".
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Some members resented deserting the traditional "operatic"
repertoire (which, admittedly, afforded better opportunity
for serious singing) and therefore formed the Opera
Club of Reigate and Redhill. Since then the two societies
have performed side-by-side in the Redhill and Reigate
areas…engaged largely in friendly rivalry
ESOS has an envied reputation for staging high-quality
productions. We currently perform at the Harlequin Theatre,
Redhill, in March and have also performed regularly
at Polesden Lacey's Open-Air Theatre in the summer.
In recent years we have begun to tackle more adventurous
repertoire and many of our latest productions have never
been staged by the Society before in its (nearly) 100
year history.
We are a very friendly society that enjoys the camaraderie
of working together to produce high-quality shows. We
have an active social calendar and are always looking
to attract new members – whether or not they want
to "tread the boards". So many skills are
needed to stage a show that there is certainly room
for people of all variety of talents.
If you should like to join us, (or are simply interested
in finding out more about the Society), please use the
following links that should answer most of your questions.
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