The Bridgnorth Amateur Operatic Society was reformed and renamed In 1952 by Arthur Fielder after being disbanded some time before the second world war (the society having originally formed in 1922, performing Gilbert and Sullivan’s “HMS Pinafore” at The Drill Hall St Mary’s Street). A meeting was arranged in the Town Hall for all those who were interested and Mr. Arnold Clarke, who was organist and choir master at St Mary’s Church, came along and brought some of his choristers - at last the new company was underway.

The first production was “Goodnight Vienna” (1953) staged at the Castle Hall in East Castle Street. It was an immediate success. Most of the costumes were made by the members or borrowed and the scenery was built by the stage crew in a disused Chapel on St Mary’s Steps. Any teething troubles were usually overcome with good humour and much laughter. The first Choreographer was Brenda Cambden, now Mrs. Spencer, who brought along some of her dancers and created a dancing troupe of seven. The orchestra numbered a mere six people. There were no patrons, just lots of energy and a great belief in the future.

Our second production was “Quaker Girl” (1954). The society now had a seven piece orchestra and seventy five patrons. In 1954 the entrance fee for members was two shillings and six pence (12.1/2p), and the annual subscription one guinea £1.05). Mr. Clarke was again our Musical director with Mrs. Constance Piper as producer. Mr. Alf Rudd joined us on stage and was to become a great asset to the society in the years to come.

The third production was “Mr. Cinders” (1955) which was performed on the stage at the Majestic Cinema. This was a wonderful venue although the cast did have to change in the British Restaurant across the car park and suffer the compulsory Pearl and Dean adverts as the cine screen was lowered during the interval. The following year the cinema was altered and we were unable to use it again. By now the orchestra was up to nine persons with one hundred and thirty one patrons, and a cast of forty five. Mr. Clarke became both Musical Director and Producer and made a wonderful job of his productions. He had a showman’s eye for the end product and would make any member of the cast sing or act parts they thought were quite beyond them. Arnold continued to support and rally us through our productions till his death in January 1972. It is largely due to his leadership and genius that the Operatic Company has reached such a high standard.

In 1972 Mr. Harold Cooper, who had joined us as pianist in 1966, took over very ably as musical director for the production of ‘The New Moon’ (1972). The company finally waved goodbye to the Castle Hall in 1977 to move to the Bridgnorth Leisure Centre for its twentieth production “Robert and Elizabeth” (1977) where it has produced all its shows to date.

During those years the society has been very fortunate to have been directed both musically and on stage by a number of very talented people, William Wood, Guy Radcliffe, Brian Turner, Ray Perks, David Hart, Chris Temple, Rod Thompson, John Biddulph, Glenys Mansell, Graham Jones, John and Janet James, David Parkes and Sarah Browne to name but a few.

In 2007 the Society was re-named “Bridgnorth Musical Theatre Company” with a commitment to take us forward to a newer generation whilst maintaining our ties with our rich heritage.