All charitable work

Colchester Operatic Society was founded in 1924 and our youth group (CO2) followed in 1984, to mount shows of greater interest to the younger members of the society, and appeal to a wider range of audiences. We are one of the region’s oldest musical theatre companies, annually producing a main show in the early part of the year, running for two weeks at The Mercury Theatre and a summer concert, performed at a variety of smaller venues, in and around Colchester. We are an amateur theatre company that is there for everyone and anyone who wants to perform or help to put on amazing shows. We promote inclusion of all ages, genders, ethnicities, sexual orientation, experience and ability! Over the years we have put on over 130 shows/concerts involving over 8,600 cast and crew. We believe musical theatre is for everyone and should be at the heart of our Colchester community. We aim to promote and improve general education in relation to all aspects of the art of drama and musical theatrical performance for the public benefit, and pride ourselves on being community based, offering local people with an interest in musical theatre, challenging, rewarding and above all fun activities. The Cost-of-Living Crisis has had a significant impact on our charity and the communities we support (in terms of membership, audiences and creatives). Trips to the theatre and the arts are often the first thing to be dropped when people can no longer afford to turn their heating on or are choosing between a warm house or food in their bellies. The costs of staging productions have escalated enormously, and whilst we once spent £700 per show, we now spend c. £100,000 for a big production such as Shrek (our upcoming production we are performing at the Mercury Theatre in January 2022). As you would expect from an increased budget, the standards of performance have also risen significantly, requiring the appointment of professional directors, musicians and musical directors who all require payment. Venue cost is a significant contributing factor to being able to continue to perform for our community. Even with discounts, it costs us a significant amount to hire the necessary venues to perform to the standard our audiences expect. This cost is unsustainable, and we are facing having to make some very challenging decisions about where we perform in the future, which in turn affects whether our members, including children and young people, want to audition for our shows! All of your kind donations received go towards our general operating costs to keep the Society running, and towards the costs of performing the shows and concerts for members of our community, which is our very purpose. Without membership and donations, we cannot run our society for the benefit of the local community!