DAODS Gets Dartford Dancing

May 31, 2016

Dartford Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (DAODS) is in toe-tapping mood as it prepares for its next production.

 

Hot on the heels of their sell-out production of Sweeney Todd comes a play with an altogether different feeling. Stepping Out is the well-known comedy by Richard Harris that chronicles several months in the life of a beginners’ dance class and is being performed at Heathfields Hall, Heath Lane from 27th June – 2nd July.

 

The play is a firm favourite with amateur societies around the country and this should come as no surprise, says Director Fred Hall, given the themes that run through the show.

 

“Although at first glance it’s about a group of people struggling together to put on a show”, says Hall, “it’s also about how these people help each other overcome their own personal problems and ultimately it is the bonds they create that matter the most. I think that is what resonates with many theatre groups like ours.”

 

The show is also a nostalgic one for the society as it was the first ever show performed in their headquarters, Heathfields Hall.

 

“When we built the Hall in 1992 it completely changed what we were able to do. Not only did we have our own home where we could rehearse but it also meant we could put on shows basically whenever we wanted to. Stepping Out was the first show we performed and it quickly prompted changes in the Hall because at the time the audience were all seated in chairs on the floor. We had complaints that some people couldn’t see the performer’s feet so ever since then we have raked seating that we put out so everyone gets a good view!”

 

After Stepping Out DAODS return to their second home, Dartford’s Orchard Theatre for the Irving Berlin classic Annie Get Your Gun in October this year.

 

Stepping Out is being performed at Heathfields Hall, Heath Lane, Dartford from 27th June – 2nd July .

Tickets: 0208 300 8148

 

For more information on this release or DAODS, email patwalsh100@hotmail.co.uk or call 07984 863642.

 

Editor’s notes:

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DAODS was formed in 1906 when three residents decided to form a local operatic society to offset ‘the perceived lack of facilities for entertainment’ in Dartford. A newspaper advert sought ‘gentlemen and young ladies with good voices and good figures’. The group’s first show, performed in Conservative Hall in Spital Street, was The Mikado in April 1907
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Comprising a large cross-section of the community from Dartford and beyond, DAODS’ members range from the youth group, which starts at nine years old, to the group’s oldest member, aged 70-plus. The society has more than 170 members plus a subsidiary, the Good Companions Singing Group, which visits local organisations such as nursing homes
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Former DAODS stars, including Lara Pulver and Rebecca Thornhill, have won Olivier Awards and appeared on primetime television and the West End (Pulver - Sherlock/Fleming/Gypsy; Thornhill - From Here To Eternity/Chicago/Matilda)
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