Our History
Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society was founded in 1923 by Madame Nina Robinson and the early shows took place at the Royal County Theatre. Apart from periods during the Second World War and the Covid lockdown period, the Society has sung and danced its way into the hearts of several generations of audiences to the people of Shropshire and beyond. In 1936 the Society moved to the Granada Cinema, a 1500 seat venue, but unfortunately, in 1972 the Granada Cinema closed and the Society moved to the Music Hall. In 1985 the Music Hall underwent a major renovation with a totally refurbished stage area and much more modern technical equipment, but once again we needed to find a new venue, as in 2009 the Music Hall closed. In 2011 SAOS opened at the new Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, playing to full houses with our production of Oliver!
Since then, we have performed award-winning shows at Theatre Severn such as Titanic the Musical, Chess, Fiddler on the Roof, Sister Act, Return to the Forbidden Planet, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Jesus Christ Superstar, Wizard of Oz, Ghost – The Musical, Sunshine On Leith and our most recent epic production, School Of Rock .
In September 2019 the members took the momentous decision to change our name from Shrewsbury Amateur Operatic Society to Shrewsbury Musical Theatre Company. We did this to reflect the evolution of the company from light opera to West End musicals.
A century on and the Company is still flourishing. Every year we welcome new members to our friendly group, for roles on and off-stage. If you would like to join us for a future production, please look out for our updates via social media and this website. We guarantee you a warm welcome.
Snippets of some of the oral history interviews conducted in celebration of our 100th birthday in 2023. Precious memories, funny stories and a glimpse into our vibrant history and our contribution to Shrewsbury's cultural heritage. Click the subtitles icon at the bottom for captions. This video was made possible with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
SMTC Past Productions
1923 The Gondoliers
1924 Iolanthe
1925 The Mikado | The Yeomen of the Guard
1927 The Pirates of Penzance | Ruddigore
1928 Merrie England
1929 The Gondoliers
1930 Tom Jones
1931 Trial by Jury | HMS Pinafore
1933 The Rebel Maid
1936 The Vagabond King
1937 Dorothy
1938 The Mikado
1939 The Yeomen of the Guard
1947 Merrie England
1948 Tom Jones
1949 The Gondoliers
1950 Veronique | The Mikado
1951 The Quaker Girl
1952 The Rebel Maid
1953 The Desert Song | Iolanthe
1954 The Arcadians
1955 The Yeomen of the Guard
1956 The Geisha
1957 The Dubarry
1958 The Gondoliers
1959 The Gypsy Baron
1960 White Horse Inn
1961 Die Fledermaus
1962 Passion Flower
1963 The Merry Widow
1964 Oklahoma!
1965 Showboat
1966 Gipsy Love
1967 The Count of Luxembourg
1968 The Pirates of Penzance & Trial by Jury
1969 La Vie Parisienne
1970 My Fair Lady
1971 Camelot | Salad Days
1972 Orpheus in the Under-world | No, No, Nanette
1973 The Gondoliers | The Merry Widow
1974 Charlie Girl
1975 Paint Your Wagon
1976 Brigadoon
1977 Fiddler on the Roof
1978 The Yeomen of the Guard | The Boyfriend
1979 Die Fledermaus | Oliver!
1980 The Gypsy Princess | The King and I
1981 Oklahoma! | The Pirates of Penzance & Trial by Jury
1982 The Desert Song | Salad Days
1983 The Gypsy Baron | Carousel
1984 Irene | A Viennese Evening
1985 Guys & Dolls | Hans Anderson
1986 Kismet | Calamity Jane
1987 Mikado | South Pacific
1988 Half a Sixpence | Annie
1989 Fiddler on the Roof | The Gondoliers
1990 The Pajama Game | Bless the Bride
1991 Oklahoma! | Brigadoon
1992 Orpheus in the Underworld | Sweet Charity
1993 Carousel | My Fair Lady
1994 Die Fledermaus | Camelot
1995 Kiss me Kate | The Pirates of Penzance & Trial by Jury
1996 Viva Mexico! | Singin’ in the Rain
1997 Gigi | HMS Pinafore | The Zoo
1998 Annie Get your Gun | The Merry Widow
1999 Fiddler on the Roof |Anything Goes
2000 Me and My Girl | Mack & Mabel
2001 The Gondoliers | 42nd Street
2002 My Fair Lady | Crazy for You
2003 Hello Dolly | South Pacific
2004 Oliver! | Oklahoma!
2005 High Society | Half A Sixpence
2006 Pirates of Penzance | Kiss Me Kate
2007 Thoroughly Modern Millie | Return to the Forbidden Planet
2008 Jekyll & Hyde | Anything Goes
2009 Summer Holiday
2010 Sweet Charity
2011 Oliver!
2012 Titanic – The Musical
2013 Chess – The Musical |Songs From The Shows
2014 Fiddler on the Roof
2015 Sister Act
2016 Return to the Forbidden Planet
2017 A Tale of Two Cities
2018 Oliver! | Priscilla Queen of the Desert
2019 Jesus Christ Superstar | Backwards Broadway Concert
2022 Wizard of Oz | Ghost – The Musical
2023 Sunshine on Leith | A Century Of Songs | School of Rock