Pretoria Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society

The Pretoria Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society (PADAMS) was an amateur society founded in 1883.

Deriving from the Pretoria Dramatic Club (also known as Pretoria Musical and Dramatic Society), which is known to have existed from 1873, PADAMS was constituted under the new name in 1883, with P.J. Marais as chairman.

Presentations by them include *

The company became defunct in 1899 on account of the Boer War, but was resucitated under the same name on 4 February 1903, now with both English- and Dutch-speaking members.

From a short while (1906-1913), it was renamed the Pretoria Conservatoire Choir, and led by Mrs. Bal. At this stage the emphasis was apparently on Dutch, and the group collaborated with other groups such as Onze Taal.

Among the presentations were ***

In 1913 however, the original name was re-instated, and the company lived on until the 1930s, concentrating especially on musicals during its later years.

Among them were

[JH]