History
HOME LATEST NEWS HISTORY FUTURE PRODUCTIONS GALLERY CONTACT US LINKS	The Society came into being through a newly arrived reporter on the Penarth Times, Ernest Barwell, who found much to his surprise, that the select and progressive dormitory town of Penarth could not boast of having an operactic and dramatic society within its midst. The response to his article was immediate and in three weeks the Society was formed. Rehearsals for "Iolanthe", the Society's first show, started on the 26th September 1924 and was put on at, at what was then the Hippodrome. The critics proclamied the show as "Brilliant Initial Performance" and "Gorgeous Scenes of Brilliancy". A very successful start for a new society. The Drama Section started a few years later in 1928 with their first performance of a "Little Bit Of Fluff" and was invited to take it to the New Theatre, Cardiff, in aid of charity. Consequently in 1929 the Society became the Penarth Operatic & Dramatic Society, known today affectionately as PODS. In 1984 to celebrate PODS 60th Anniversary, a then member, Trevor Pugsley, produced a history of the Society, entitled "Curtain Up", which covers "60 Glorious Years" from 1924 - 1984. The PODS is run by an Executive Committee which is elected annually, and the Society's old set of Rules was amended into a new Constitution in September 1996. Also in 1996, it acquired Charitable Status under the heading of "education" in the arts, as the Society's objectives are to educate the community in the dramatic and operatic arts, or theatre, and to further the development of appreciation and taste in such arts. Its musical productions cover the gamut of American type musicals such as "Guys and Dolls", "Annie Get Your Gun", and "My Fair Lady", to Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Mikado", and "Kismet" based on the themes of Borodin, to Lionel Bart's "Oliver" based on the iconic Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist". In 1963 the operatic section was the winner of the prestigious Waterford Light Opera Festival with its production of "The King and I" when audiences acclaimed it the best show ever since the festival had started. The drama section has put on serious drama such as "Pride and Prejudice" and the "Forthsyte Saga", to bedroom farce such as "Move Over Mrs. Markhan" and Welsh playwright, Frank Vickery's comedy "One O'Clock From The House". Site created by:Darren Edwards ©Copyright2006PODS Last updated 29/08/2010.