Urmston Musical Theatre (UMT) is an

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

company based in

Urmston Urmston is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which had a population of 41,825 at the 2011 Census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is southwest of Manchester city centre. The southern boundary is the ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, UK.

History

The organisation was formed in 1911 as the Urmston and District Operatic Society, and produced ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

'' at the Urmston Public Hall. In 1947, the name was changed to the Urmston Amateur Operatic Society which remained until it assumed the current name. Several well-known personalities have been connected with the society, notably the current President,

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for a ...

, who appeared in the society's 1963 production of ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' along with Peter Pennington, who became a featured soloist with the '' Black and White Minstrels''. Others include

Brian Trueman Brian Trueman (born 16 May 1932) is an English broadcaster, writer and voice actor. He is known mainly for his work with the animation studio Cosgrove Hall. He wrote and/or narrated children's cartoon series, mostly during the 1970s and 1980s. ...

who appeared in the group's production of '' Merrie England'' in 1951, the late Lord Winstanley and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

MP,UMT Past Shows
The Urmston Musical Theatre, Retrieved on 16 November 2008. grandson of the wartime leader and son of

Randolph Churchill Randolph Frederick Edward Spencer-Churchill (28 May 1911 – 6 June 1968) was an English journalist, writer, soldier, and politician. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Preston from 1940 to 1945. The only son of British ...

MBE. In 1958, 1959 and 1960, the society won the

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...

Prompter's Palm award for their productions of '' Carousel'', ''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...

'' and ''Magyar Melody'' respectively. The society has also been nominated in the Manchester Musical Awards on a number of occasions for both overall and individual performances. In 1995, they won the "Best Musical" award for their production of ''

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

''. Junior members aged between 8 years and 18 years, in addition to being involved in some of the main shows and pantomimes, have presented a variety of musicals in their own right since 1993 including '' The Wizard of Oz'', ''

Bugsy Malone ''Bugsy Malone'' is a 1976 gangster musical comedy film written and directed by Alan Parker (in his feature film directorial debut). A co-production of United States and United Kingdom, it features an ensemble cast, featuring only child actor ...

'', ''Andy Capp'', '' Copperfield'', and ''Dazzle''. In the early 1930s, the theatre almost closed when reserves fell to £3, but for the enthusiasm and dedication of its members and patrons.

Past presidents and shows

References

External links

Official website
{{Buildings and structures in Trafford Borough Buildings and structures in Trafford Amateur theatre companies in England Performing groups established in 1911 Organisations based in Trafford