One of Susanna Centlivre’s greatest successes, The Busy Body was written in 1709 and centres on two intertwining love plots. The T.A.O.D.S staged their own production of the play in 1967 at City Hall Truro. This photograph was taken during one of their performances of the show.
Written by Ted Willis, Doctor at Sea is a farsical comedy in three acts. It was performed at City Hall Truro by the T.A.O.D.S between the 10th and 13th of March, 1965 and was directed by John Knight. This photograph was taken during a performance of the play.
Vera Ware was the Truro Amateur Operatic & Dramatic Society’s ballet mistress who not only choreographed performances but also, on occassion, produced them too. Vera had also owned her own dance school at number 3 River Street during the 1930s, where she taught ‘all branches of dancing.’
Written by Arthur Lovegrove, the play follows the story of the Fordyces family and the events that unravel after Mrs. Puffin, a complete stranger, walks into their lives with predictions of the future. This image is a photograph that was taken of the T.A.O.D.S production of they play at City Hall in March 1966.
Written by Arthur Lovegrove, the play follows the story of the Fordyces family and the events that unravel after Mrs. Puffin, a complete stranger, walks into their lives with predictions of the future.
The White Horse Inn is a musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz who adapted it from Oscar Blumenthal’s original play. It follows the story of the head waiter of the White Horse Inn who is desperately in love with it’s owner. The T.A.O.D.S staged their own production of the musical in 1965 at City Hall Truro.
First produced in 1927, the Showboat musical follows the lives and loves of the workers aboard the Cotton Blossom travelling showboat. The T.A.O.D.S performance of the musical ran at City Hall Truro between the 2nd and 7th of November 1992, although it had been produced by the society for decades. Joan and John Boreham produced this particular performance, with Joan also directing the choreography.
The Sound of Music first opened on Broadway in 1959 and won 5 Tony awards including best musical. By 1961 it had reached British theatres and first opened at the Palace Theatre, London. This photograph is from the 1990 T.A.O.D.S production of The Sound of Music at City Hall in 1990.
This is a photograph of costumes being sewn for a T.A.O.D.S production of The Sound of Music. Although costumes sometimes came with the set designs during this period, a lot of the outfits that were used for T.A.O.D.S performances were made by the family and friends of society members.
As a registered charity since 1969, the TAODS rely on fundraising to finance the society and the events and performances they produce. One such fundraising inititative was the holding of summer fairs at City Hall which included raffles, tombolas and fair ground style games.