Port Elizabeth Musical and Dramatic Society

Port Elizabeth Musical and Dramatic Society or PEMADS

The Port Elizabeth Musical and Dramatic Society was founded in the basement of the Port Elizabeth City Hall in August 1945, when a group of musical theatre enthusiasts decided to present shows away from the Savoy operettas. The name quickly became abbreviated to PEMADS and has been known as such ever since. The president of the Society was the famous pianist, Sigi Hallis, chairman was J R Pigott, (a member of the Port Elizabeth Maritime Band), vice-chairman was Dave Berg, Marge Phillips was the hon secretary and Harold Davidson was the hon treasurer. By April 1947, the Society boasted a membership of 200.

By 1970 the Society had more than 3000 members. ***

In 2015 Rose Cowpar, President of the Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and Yolande Farrow, newly-elected Chairperson of PEMADS, initiated a closer relationship between the two societies, including joint projects.

The PEMADS Little Theatre

For many years, the society operated from the Little Theatre (formerly Loubser Hall) located on the corner of Castle Hill and Athol Fugard Terrace (formerly Belmont Terrance), Central in Gqeberha. However, in March 2024, PEMADS announced it was vacating the premises, following several acts of vandalism and high incidence of crime in the area, and that it was establishing a partnership with Laerskool Newton Park. Future productions would be staged at the school.

For more information on the venue, see Loubser Hall.

Productions

Beginnings

1946: PEMADS produced their first play, Peter Blackmore’s The Blue Goose directed by Eve Martin, in the Port Elizabeth City Hall (April).

1946: The Quaker Girl, directed by Daphne Mann.

1947: Arsenic and Old Lace, produced by Raymond Davidson was staged in the Port Elizabeth City Hall (May 22 - 24). The business managers and prop-builders were Harold Davidson and Dave Berg.

1947: PEMADS produced their first musical comedy, Gipsy Love, produced by Sally Carrol and directed by Honor Edmonds at the Port Elizabeth Opera House (August 12 - 16), with Jean Browne as choral mistress, Edna Stanton Fryer as musical director and Yvonne Harrison as choreographer. Starring Nanette Walker, Daphne Russell, John Farrar, Fred Bryant, Ivy Foster, Harold Davidson, Jan Westenbrugge and Malcolm Mackay.

Pemads Proud Parade/Annual productions

1950: PEMADS in the Loubser Hall, subsequently called "The Little Theatre"; Twelfth Night; Season of 4 One Act Plays; Down to the Sea.

1951: Dangerous Corner; Tulip Time; Season of 4 One Act Plays; The Valiant.

1952: Salters One Act Play Festival; Maid of the Mountains; Lady Precious Stream; Captain Carvallo; Riders to the Sea.

1953: Salters One Act Play Festival; Lilac Time.

1954: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Duke in Darkness; Hit the Deck; The Lady's not for Burning.

1955: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Hasty Heart; Intent to Murder; Old Chelsea; Miss Mabel; Gerrie (Afrikaans).

1956: Salters One Act Play Festival; A Question of Fact; Angels in Love; The Burning Glass.

1957: Salters One Act Play Festival; Black Chiffon; All for Mary; Cinderella.

1958: Salters One Act Play Festival; Full House; Light of Heart; Sleeping Beauty.

1959: Salters One Act Play Festival; Fifty-fifty; Opening of the new Little Theatre; Autumn Crocus; The Paragon; Simon and Laura; Aladdin.

1960: Salters One Act Play Festival; Waters of the Moon; The Winters Tale: Mrs Willie; Contrasts - 4 One Act Plays; As Long as They're Happy.

1961: Salters One Act Play Festival; Dead on Nine; Serious Charge; Temple Folly; The House by the Lake; The Holly and the Ivy.

1962: Salters One Act Play Festival; Breath of Spring; The Wooden Dish; Night was our Friend; The Boy Friend.

1963: The Enchanted; Murder on Arrival; Playbill; The Trial of Mary Dugan; The Magistrate.

1964: School for Wives; Gazebo; Signpost to Murder; The Tiger and the Horse; The Reluctant Debutante.

1965 Salters One Act Play Festival; Claudia; The Glass Menagerie; Waiting for Gillian; Portrait in Black; The Bride Comes Back.

1966: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Desperate Hours; Of Mice and Men; Wild Goose Chase; Macbeth.

1967: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Last of Mrs Cheyney; Harvey; Eureka; Blood Wedding; See How They Run.

1968: Salters One Act Play Festival: The Caine Mutiny Court Martial; The Rivals; Bell, Book and Candle; The Seagull; The Blazes with Modesty.

1969: Salters One Act Play Festival; Winter's Journey; The Long and the Short and the Tall; Sailor Beware; A Raisin in the Sun; A Christmas Carol.

1970: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Irregular Verb to Love; Ladies in Retirement; A Thousand Clowns; Exit the King.

1971: Salters One Act Play Festival; Twelve Angry Men; The Entertainer; No Time for Five-Leaves; Lady Audley's Secret.

1972: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Diary of Anne Frank; Reluctant Heroes; Detective Story; Dick Whittington.

1973: Salters One Act Play Festival; Busybody; Portrait of Murder; Blythe Spirit; Life with Father.

1974: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Poker Session; You Can't Take it with You; Bad Seed; Hay Fever.

1975: Salters One Act Play Festival; Spiders Web; Dangerous Corner.

1976: Salters One Act Play Festival; Barretts of Wimpole Street; Birds on the Wing; Rollo; Oh What a Lovely War.

1977: Salters One Act Play Festival; Night of January 16th; Silver Jubilee; Odd Man In; The Brides of March; A Shred of Evidence.

1978: Salters One Act Play Festival; Triple Bill; Come Back Little Sheba; Doctor in the House.

1979: The King and I; Let Sleeping Wives Lie; The Rope Dancers; Peter Pan; Opening of the Ford Little Theatre.

1980: Ira Levin's Death Trap.

1981: Salters One Act Play Festival; Home; Crown Matrimonial; Fools Paradise; Farewell, Farewell Eugene.

1982: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg; Chase Me Comrade; Wait Until Dark; The Man Who Came to Dinner.

1983: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Anniversary; The Little Foxes; Variation on a Theme; Alphabetical Order; Say it with Music.

1984: Salters One Act Play Festival: My Three Angels: Murder at the Vicarage; The Happy Apple; Mother Goose.

1985: Salters One Act Play Festival; Shock; Prisoner of 2nd Avenue; New Faces of 1985; Cinderella.

1986: Salters One Act Play Festival; Barefoot in the Park; Pack of Lies; Aladdin.

1987: Salters One Act Play Festival; 84 Charing Cross Road; There Goes the Bride; Hello Jerry!; Robyn Hood.

1988: Salters One Act Play Festival; Rattle of a Simple Man; Kennedy's Children; True Brit!; The Wizard of Oz.

1989: Salters One Act Play Festival; Tribute; The Secret Tent; True Brit '89; Witness for the Prosecution.

1990: Salters One Act Play Festival '90; Sophiatown; They Don't grow on Trees; Double Cut; Godspell.

1991:Salters One Act Play Festival; Separate Tables; Grapes of Wrath; Noises Off; A Christmas Carol.

1992: Salters One Act Play Festival; Under the Oaks and Over the Hill; They're Playing our Song.

1993: Salters One Act Play Festival; The Glass Menagerie; Allo Allo; Lend me a Tenor.

1994: [[The Diary of Anne Frank; [[Shock Tactics; Stepping Out.

1995: Salters One Act Play Festival; Steel Magnolias; Plastics; Night of a Thousand Stars.

1996: Salters One Act Play Festival; An Inspector Calls; A Bedfull of Foreigners; Starbright.

1997: Salters One Act Play Festival; Darling Mr London; Shadowlands.

1998: Salters One Act Play Festival; Women in the Wings; Ira Levin's Death Trap.

1999: Tom Jones; Kindertransport.

2000: Salters One Act Play Festival; Grandfathers Clock; Great Macaroni Franchise Scandal.

2001: Bridal Paths; Spiders Web; Noises Off.

2002: Letters & Lovage; Woman in Black; Nunsense.

2003: And Then There Were None; Simply the Best; An Ideal Husband; The Secret Lives of Henry and Alice; Nunsense II.

2004: Unexpected Quest; The Importance of Being Earnest.

2005: Educating Rita; Charley's Aunt; Cinderella.

2006: Funny Business; Aladdin.

2007; Change of Mind; Robin Hood.

2008: Oliver; A Few Good Men; Sleeping Beauty.

2009: The Prize; The Government Inspector; Thoroughly Modern Millie; You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.

2010: Blythe Spirit; Annie.

2011: Fawlty Towers; The Good, the Bad and the Soapie; Don't Dress For Dinner; Jack and the Beanstalk.

2012: Timeless; Page by Page; Cinders.

2013: Calendar Girls; Honk!

2014: Macbeth; Snow White.

2015: The Ex Factor; Music, Movies, Magic (With PE G&S Society).

2016: Fiona Coyne Double Bill (As the Koekie Crumbles & Careful); Proof; Puss in Boots.

2017: Iconic Broadway; Sleeping Beauty.

2018: RENT The Musical; The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Sinbad The Sailor.

2019: Steel Magnolias; Rapunzel - A Tangled Mess.

2020/2021: No shows due to Covid 19 lockdown.

2022: The Taming of the Shrew

2023: Goldilocks & The Three Bears Pantomime

2024: Wild & Wicked West End

PEMADS and The Salters Cup

From 1952 PEMADS hosted the Salters One Act Play Festival, in addition to its own productions. The Salters Cup itself was awarded for best director and the specific aim of the competition was to encourage new directors, although later acting awards were also introduced. To maintain high standards of production, the awards were not issued during some festivals. It was held for the last time in 1998.

For more information, see Salters One Act Play Festival

Twelfth Night Awards

For many years, PEMADS has hosted the annual '12th Night' awards. Traditionally, this event was always held on the 6th of January (12 days after Christmas). More recently, however, it has been moved to later in January as many people are only returning from their holidays around the 6th of January so the society found the occasion was not well supported so early in the month. With this event, PEMADS awards and acknowledges performers who have participated in productions of the preceding year.

For more information

For more information, see Amateur Theatre in South Africa

Sources

Saturday Post, April 19, 1947.

Saturday Post, July 26, 1947.

Gosher, 1988 [JH]

Bob Eveleigh, 2015, "Closer ties for PE theatre societies" ArtsLink, August 20, 2015.

Original programme for the Pemads production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, August 15-25, 2018.

Promotional pamphlet for Steel Magnolias.

https://www.pemads.co.za/Proud-Parade/

PEMADS Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Pemadspe

Go to the ESAT Bibliography

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