A Short History
Glasgow Light Opera Club
The Early Years
In 1907 some people on the South side of Glasgow decided to get together and perform musical shows in order to raise funds for local charities. As their first show, "The Mandarin" (music by C T West, Book and Lyrics by Fred Edmonds) was performed in The St. Mungo Halls, a Co-operative building in Ballater Street, Glasgow. The group was named The St. Mungo Opera Club, a name they used for many years.
The following year the Club moved to The Princess's Theatre in Gorbals Street (which became The Citizen's Theatre in 1945) where the members trod the boards for the next 18 years, apart from a break of six years due to the First World War. The membership kept in touch throughout, and normal service resumed in 1920, again with The Mikado. Newspaper articles of the period show that the Club's productions were well received and very popular.
A Change of Name
In 1927 the decision was made to change the name to the Glasgow Light Opera Club, principally because of sectarian tensions in Northern Ireland suggesting that religious intolerance might be encouraged by the 'saintly' name. The Club had been gaining in popularity with performances in the Princess's Theatre, Theatre Royal, Coliseum and the King's Theatre, staging "The Vagabond King" and the World Amateur Première of "The Three Musketeers" — based on the Dumas novel, with music by Rudolph Friml and a contribution to the lyrics by P G Wodehouse.
Despite the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Club went from strength to strength, with sell-out performances crowding the aisles of the various theatres. Things were looking good until 1939, when war caused a hiatus until resuming productions in 1945 at The Lyric Theatre. And so the Club went on, with 1957 becoming the start of the King's Theatre as its home for most of the years since.
Charity at Our Core
Performances to help charities have always, since 1907, been a major force in the Club's reason for being, with an emphasis on charities with a strong local connection. The decision as to which charity to support is taken by the membership at the Club's AGM, very often because of a member's own personal connection to that cause. Recent recipients have been CHAS, Erskine Hospital, Sense Scotland, CLICSargent, and MNDScotland.
Today
At one time, Glasgow was the only city in the UK with twelve amateur productions in No.1 Theatres. The costs of producing at the King's Theatre continue to rise, and in most cases the only income is from the sale of seats. Despite this, the quality of GLOC's productions has continued to rise, in many cases equalling or exceeding those of professional touring productions. We give thanks for people like you who return year after year to support us.
"We have members from all walks of life and all age groups who share one thing in common: a love for musical theatre."
Glasgow Light Opera Club, Programme Notes
