A Brief History of the Society

The Oxford Operatic Society has been in existence under one name or another since 1907. The City of Oxford Amateur Dramatic Club was founded in 1907 but in the 1920s split into two separate societies - The City of Oxford Amateur Dramatic Society and the City of Oxford Operatic Society.

In 1929 the two societies amalgamated again and became known as The City of Oxford Dramatic and Operatic Society. As far as we are able to tell, the first production of the reformed society was Merrie England, performed at The New Theatre. The society continued to perform there until 1932, when the old building was pulled down and the society moved to the Old Oxford Playhouse (known as the Red Barn) on Woodstock Road, until the outbreak of the Second World War.

The Oxford Operatic Society was reformed in 1946, largely due to the efforts of Percy Walters, George Walker and Bill Sawyer. The first production again was Merrie England, performed at The Oxford Town Hall. After five further productions the society took the momentous step of moving to The Oxford Playhouse in Beaumont Street. Oxford Operatic Society's first show there was The Mikado in February 1950, the start of a long and happy relationship with The Oxford Playhouse as the society has performed there regularly ever since.

During the 1980s the society also performed at St Edward's School and put on three shows at The Apollo Theatre in Oxford during the closure of The Playhouse.

Take a look at Past shows.