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Imperial Productions is a dynamic theatre group based in the centre of London,England. |
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On a Sunday evening in January 1979, two members of the cast of the Imperial College Operatic Society production of The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein went to the ladies' loo. They began to discuss a problem in the society: many of the roles, both principal and chorus, were being filled by ex-students, rather than current ones. They came up with the solution that "people who have left College should do the decent thing: leave, and form their own group." So, Imperial Opera was born.
From such a humble origin, the group has grown, drawing members from across London, as well as keeping strong connections with its sister group, now the Imperial College Union Musical Theatre Society, and mutually maintaining their love affair with the Devon town of Budleigh Salterton.
In June 2004, Imperial Opera celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a gala concert at the London Oratory School, and in 2007 the company changed its name to Imperial Productions. The new name better reflects the progressive style and wide-ranging repertoire that makes the group what it is today.
Imperial Productions is still faithful to its original agenda: to present a diverse (not to say eclectic) programme of rare, unusual, overlooked or forgotten works, and encourage creative and innovative interpretations and performances. To date, productions have included the works of Mozart, Gilbert & Sullivan, Offenbach, Shostakovich, Britten, Sondheim, Coward, Porter, Weill, and Rodgers & Hammerstein. Long live the rich variety of Variety!
Imperial Productions is a dynamic theatre group based in the centre of London, England. Formerly known as Imperial Opera, we perform a diverse range of material, and pride ourselves in our innovative and creative style. We often produce rarely-performed works, which have in the past ranged from Sondheim and Berstein to Purcell and Vaughan-Williams.
So what makes Imperial different from other societies?
* Our diversity of styles. We perform works from across the whole spectrum of musical theatre - ranging from opera, via operetta, to musicals.
* Our choice of shows. We often present less well-known, technically challenging, and rarely-performed works.
* Our style of production. Our productions are innovative and unconventional.
* Our standards of performance. We work to the highest standards of singing, acting and musicianship.
Imperial Productions usually present two shows a year in London, around June and October. We are fortunate enough to perform at Hoxton Hall, Hoxton Street N1, The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street NW8, and various other fringe venues around Central London. In December, we perform a suitably frivolous Christmas entertainment in the small Devon town of Budleigh Salterton. We also perform the occasional charity concert, and we're even considering doing plays!
Looking for a theatre group in Central London? We could be just for you! Browse our site to this one,.
What's On ...
Join us for our next social play reading:
The Rivals
Friday 23rd May 2008, 7.30pm at St Gabriel's Halls, Pimlico.
Continuing our series of play readings, this time we're coming forward to the 18th Century with R.B. Sheridan's first comic masterpiece. Ashely's organising this one, please email him if you're interested in coming along.
Did you miss ...
The Pirates of Penzance
We'll be returning to our favourite seaside resort in December 2008 - full details to be announced - but before then, our sister society will perform On The Town in Budleigh this July/August. Visit the ICOS website for more details.
Copyright © 2008 Imperial Productions |
The Last Maharajah is a sweeping tale of nineteenth century political intrigue. Set in London and Paris in 1887, it is a musical which tells the tale of Dalip Singh, the last maharajah of the Punjab, as he begins a quest to regain possession of his Indian throne and the priceless Kohinoor diamond from the mighty British Empire.
When Dalip meets Kitty Vaughan for the first time, there is an instant attraction, despite the fact that they come from different worlds: he an Indian maharajah and she the cockney soubrette from the stage of the famous London Alhambra Music Hall. With her help, he resorts to trickery to flee to Paris to meet the wealthy and politically influential people of Europe, who are only too willing to assist him in his efforts to dislodge the British Empire and return to his native land. However, the fabulous Kohinoor proves to be elusive and dangerous, and does not easily succumb to a change in ownership.
The Last Maharajah is collaboration between writer Hal Davies, composer Ziggy de Voight and lyricist Jackson B Sutcliffe. De Voight and Sutcliffe previously worked together on their musical Nostradamus, which premiered in Australia in 2002. This is their first collaboration with Davies, writer of the hilarious musical farce All Above Board which, since its premiere in 1992, has had productions around Australia. This premiere production will be directed by David Phipps-Davis, with musical direction from Leo Nicholson and choreography by Jenny Perry.
Based on our ever-popular and successful format of "Christmas Budleigh", we've decided to head back to our favourite Devonshire seaside town in Spring for the first time. Continuing the Gilbert & Sullivan theme we started last Christmas, we'll put on two semi-staged concert performances of The Pirates of Penzance.
The tale follows Frederic, a young man, through his encounters with a band of tender-hearted orphaned pirates in this story of love, duty and loyalty. The score includes some of Arthur Sullivan's best-loved music, and W S Gilbert's most witty lyrics, with songs including "With cat-like tread", "When the foeman bares his steel", and of course, "I am the very model of a modern Major-General".
The show will be directed by Sarah Hargreaves with musical direction from Wendy Norman.
If you're joining us on stage, in the band, or front of house, check out our Beginners Guide to Spring Budleigh.
It is an interesting time for Imperial Productions. Under their new name and re-branded image, they still maintain faith with the original agenda of the society formed twenty-nine years ago to produce a “diverse programme of rare, unusual, overlooked or forgotten works, and encourage creative and innovative interpretations and performances”. It could be argued that this noble ambition is harder today than it has ever been, as companies, both professional and amateur are finding it increasingly hard to lure audiences away from their freeview channels and computer screens to come and delight in live theatre. How then is a company of performers to persuade an audience, and for that matter their own performers, to take a chance on a little known or challenging work? The obvious, but unsatisfactory solution for most companies is generally to resort to the most popular musical fare, which may be relied on to pull in some sort of audience no matter how undiscriminating they may be.
Imperial has had the courage to buck that trend, though it has caused them to constantly walk the tightrope between ruinous and unjustified audience indifference and surprising and revelatory success. One can point to a number of shows that languished in obscurity, but which have been championed by Imperial and have subsequently been taken up by the likes of the ENO and the West End. So what was one to expect from an archly named production that purported to be “a celebration of musicals through the decades”? Was it selling out to a litany of ‘your favourite songs from the shows’? No it most certainly was not – it was as much an evening full of surprise, delight and revelation as one could hope for.
Yes there were some old favourites, such as the very funny ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’, the tinglingly lovely ‘Make Our Garden Grow’ and the title piece ‘Flash Bang Wallop’. However, interspersed amongst these were little gems, which fell fresh, new and unknown to the vast majority of the ecstatically appreciative audience. Some of these pieces were simply neglected but delightful numbers from better known shows, however others… well, where does one stumble across a show such as ‘Urinetown’?
What made the evening rush by were the assured and enthusiastic performances from a cast that ranged from many superb new faces to Imperial to… well, old stagers like Sally Donegani. It would run to several pages if I were to sing the praises of all the soloists, however some performances afforded particular delight. Amongst these were the stylish and attractive voice of Emily Berrington, Jenny Perry’s stratospheric singing, and the delightful stage personalities of David Swain and Matthew Smith. Jennifer Woodward provided gutsy passion with a strong singing voice whilst Jen Wiper’s assured sexiness also lit up the stage. I have seldom heard the more regular performers such as Pam O’Brian, Paul Schoonenberg, Colin Fleming, Alan Doherty and Lorna Perry sing better. Mention must also be made of the wonderful Alex Young whose comic talent enables her to get her biggest laughs with the smallest of facial expressions. All the other performers (sorry for not mentioning you by name) played their part in making this a very tight ensemble piece.
The same is true of the seemingly faultless band under Wendy Norman. Playing from the back of the stage they were always sympathetic to the singers and worked together with a cohesion which would suggest that they had been playing these pieces for weeks. And here is the most remarkable thing, because this sleek and stylish show was put together with the minimum of rehearsal. The biggest accolade must therefore go to Producer, Director and Choreographer Dale Bassett in his directorial début with Imperial. This may not have been the most polished show Imperial has ever staged, but the pace, the energy and the style were indicative of a director of considerable talent.
Imperial Productions gives the impression of moving forwards with a real sense of purpose. To do this it must attract and retain new young performers with the talents that were so well showcased by ‘Flash Bang Wallop!’. If they can continue to do this then the society will be in superb shape for future success.
About the Show
Company members old and new come together for this enthralling revue celebrating musical theatre throughout the decades, from the 1920s to the present day.
The repertoire is exciting, varied and almost guaranteed to have something you know, and something you don’t! The show is directed by Dale Bassett with musical direction by Wendy Norman, and features songs from ‘classic’ musical composers (Kern, Porter, Rodgers, Gershwin) through to more modern popular writers (Kander & Ebb, Sondheim) and some very contemporary works (William Finn, Jason Robert Brown) – so there really is something for everyone.
Dale BassettCome and join us for this voyage of discovery and what promises to be an extremely entertaining evening.
We are very keen for this event to act as an opportunity for past, present and new members to get involved with the group, so even if you're not taking part, please come along for a fun evening and find out what we're all about.
The show is currently in rehearsa
The prinicpal roles have been cast for The Pirates of Penzance, but we still need as many people as we can get to sing in the chorus. To be involved, just come along to the first rehearsal, or email the director, Sarah Hargreaves. It's going to be a great fun weekend away, and with only six rehearsals it will be a roller-coaster ride of a concert!
read more
Ellis C Pike accepts Honorary Life Membership
Posted March 9th, 2008 by David
What a delight it was on the occasion of a somewhat significant birthday just recently, to be taken on one side by David Phipps-Davis and given the news that I had been awarded the honour of being made a Life Member of Imperial Productions (Opera as was). In fact I slightly surprised myself by how moved and grateful I was.
Imperial Opera/Productions is extremely important to me, it has been a major part of my life since I helped found it 29 years ago, and remains a very important to me, notably in the friends I have made through the society. It all began in January 1979; a bunch of friends who were rehearsing for the ICOS production of 'The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein' were sitting in the upstairs lounge of the 'Southside Bar' at Imperial College, musing, over copious amounts of well earned alcohol, as to what part they would play in the society when the production was over.
There are currently several vacancies on our committee. If you'd like to help out with the running of the society, please see our get involved page for more details.
Imperial Productions are currently seeking directors, musical directors and choreographers for shows in London in 2008. We welcome show proposals from experienced directors or MDs who may have an interest in putting on innovative and inventive productions of operas, operettas, musicals or plays.
For further details, please contact the Chair, David Phipps-Davis.
Here are some answers to questions prospective directors and MDs may have:
1. Imperial Productions do not pay their directors or MDs.
2. We usually rehearse on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings, Thursday evenings and either Saturday or Sunday afternoons. These rehearsals normally take place in the Pimlico or Archway areas of London, or certainly somewhere central.
3. We usually perform one show in the Summer (June) and one in the Winter (October/November) in London, and another at the beginning of December in Budleigh Salterton, Devon. Sometimes the Winter shows in London and Budleigh are the same production.
4. In London, we have recently performed at Hoxton Hall and the Cockpit Theatre, but are always open to suggestions of new and exciting venues.
5. Our current company comes from a wide and varied background, from those with no experience to trained and experienced professionals. Most of our company are aged 18-40, but we have a few members younger than that and several older. Anyone can audition for a show – they do not need to be a member of the society.
6. Directors can supply their own MD and choreographer or we can suggest someone – everything is open to discussion.
7. The director is usually responsible for producing the show, or finding a Producer to help them.
8. The production team have total control of the casting, with the director having veto. The committee do not take an active role in casting, although a balance of new talent and existing company members is encouraged.
9. The director has total artistic control over the production. The committee are only there for help and guidance.
To stay up to date with all Imperial Productions news, or if you are interested in auditioning for a show or joining us in any other capacity, please subscribe to our e-mail newsletter. Delivered straight to your inbox every month, we use this to annoucne all our forthcoming auditions and future shows.
Why not also join our Facebook group?
If you have any specific enquiries about Imperial Productions, our activies, and opportunities for performing, feel free to e-mail us: membership@imperialproductions.org
For information or problems with this site, please e-mail Dan: webmaster@imperialproductions.org |
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