The Yeomen of the Guard – news and diary dates!

Hello everyone – we have Yeomen of the Guard news to share!

The welcome rehearsal for our summer production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Yeomen of the Guard will take place on Sunday 22 March at Holy Trinity Church, Kensington, London SW7 2BA, at 2pm. This will be more than just a welcome meeting with nibbles – we will be covering some of the ensemble music and some full-company choreography so bring your vocal cords and dancing shoes!

Our high-spirited new production is set during the reign of Henry VIII – but the twist is that we are performing the opera as if we are a troupe of Elizabethan players staging a contemporary entertainment, with noble Yeomen and rowdy groundlings everywhere. We’ll be playing up the comedy, turning up the tragedy, dancing jigs and galliards, all with Gilbert’s wit and Sullivan’s finest music and transforming the Riverhead Theatre stage into an Elizabethan playhouse, so we’re looking for a large cast to bring the era to life.

This is NewLOG’s final annual tour to Louth, so we’d love to see lots of new faces and old friends alike to help make this a production to remember full of life and energy. It’s your last chance to “do Louth!” so if you’ve always wondered what it’s all about, or you’ve performed with us in the past, everyone is welcome to take part in this “last hurrah” as we say farewell to our home-from-home in Lincolnshire. A great time is guaranteed with events including our annual costume ball (with ceilidh) – you don’t want to miss this one!

As always, there are no auditions for chorus – everyone is welcome. Auditions for principal roles will take place at Holy Trinity on Sunday 29 March – more information about audition requirements will be announced soon. Rehearsals will take place in London, mostly on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons, with the possibility of some principal rehearsals outside of that, depending on availability. Cast will be required to be in Louth from 1pm on Wednesday 17 June, with performances Thursday-Saturday of that week.

We can’t wait to get started, and we’re looking forward to seeing you at the rehearsal and in Louth!

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

_{The New London Opera Group is a not-for-profit amateur theatre company. A ‘show fee’ is payable by all participants to help cover production costs; we will aim to keep this as low as possible. Accommodation and travel costs are to be borne by the participants.}