Dear friends,

When the University of London Opera Group (ULOG) disbanded in 2003 after nearly 50 years, we decided to form our own independent company to keep its spirit alive. The New London Opera Group – NewLOG – was born. Since then, we have developed from a student society to a fully fledged amateur opera company. We’ve performed the complete canon of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas (some of them several times) in our home-from-home, the Louth Riverhead Theatre.

After 22 years of performing in this lovely and welcoming Lincolnshire town, we have made the difficult decision that our production in June 2026 at the Riverhead will be our final tour to Louth.

We will continue with our concert works in London, as with our recent successes The Poisoned Kiss, Hugh the Drover, Die Fledermaus and Carmen. We will take productions to the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, and we are also investigating venues for fully-staged performances in London.

We are excited to announce that next year’s production at the Riverhead will be a new production of one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s very finest and most-loved works, The Yeomen of the Guard, and will be directed by Tony Bannister with Alex Carpenter as musical director. We hope that members new and old will come together to make this a Yeomen full of merrymaking, dance, comedy, intrigue and a touch of heartbreak. We’re going “all-out”, so it’s the perfect opportunity to get involved and make this “last hurrah” in Louth something to remember.

The performance dates are Thursday 18, Friday 19 and Saturday 20 June 2026, with cast required to be in Louth from noon on Wednesday 17 June. Auditions are likely to be around Easter, and as ever, there are no auditions for chorus.

As well as the June production we will be looking to announce a concert production in London this winter; again, details will follow when we have more news.

We’d like to thank all the talented people who have contributed to NewLOG’s adventures in Louth over the years – the staff and crew of the Louth Riverhead Theatre, our set and costume makers and prop scavengers, our cast, crew, and musicians. We look forward to working with you in the future as NewLOG begins its next chapter.

Thank you all,

Fay, Alex, Tony, Eirian, Chris and Steve
The NewLOG board