·A Trip Down Memory Lane·
1995 sees the 40th annual musical production of the IDOLS (The Infirmary Dramatic, Operatic and Literary Society).
I wonder how many of you remember the birth of the IDOLS, when a group of medical, nursing and physiotherapy staff under the leadership of Mr Cracknell - -'Crackers' met in one of the doctors' rooms to see if we couldn't come up with an idea to help all the staff play together.
So the IDOLS was born, and our first venture on to the boards was The Pirates of Penzance, with a cast of nearly 40, under the baton of Theo Clee and his orchestra. The producer was Charles Pole, who also played the Sergeant of Police.
The stage was the tubular steel one used for the Drs' Christmas Show and the theatre as at Christmas time was the Knighton Street OPD. The Works Department erected the stage; and during the day one could walk all the way round it to get to the Pharmacy hatch. It was up to us to produce the scenery and to paint it. When it came to the nights of the show, cast and helpers moved into OPD to transform it into a theatre at 6pm; by then most of the patients had left. The seats and benches had to be rearranged and numbered. The extra side panels added to the sides of the stage and steps fitted and the side clinics and changing cubicles allocated for the cast changing etc. After the last curtain call, it was off with our costumes and all hands to sweep and clean up for the next day, and re-arrange all the benches for the clinics. It was a lot of hard work but great fun. Nursing staff whose exam results could have been better were asked by authority if they had been "Idoling"!
Eventually all was ready for us to play for three nights, tickets sold, when Matron's office staff decreed that at least half of the female chorus were to go on to nightduty the week before the show! I did battle on our behalf and the move was postponed. Matron's office staff came and enjoyed the show and congratulated us and said that they hadn't thought that we could do it!
Since those days we have put on a musical every year, and in the early years managed to stage one or two plays a year till 1964.
In 1968, I was then on St Agnes and Valley of Song was about to open, when as Chairman of the IDOLS, I was visited by some Fire Officers who were not very happy. Unknown to me they had inspected the stage and its environs and found it wanting. They were not prepared to let the sold out show go on. I sent an SOS to Crackers our President. He arrived very rapidly and they all retired to my sitting room on the top corridor with a large pot of coffee. In the end they let us carry on, but in future we were to find another venue. We were at the Queen's Hall in the University for one year and then we were given a slot at the Little Theatre which has enabled us to put on much more professional shows.
In the early days shows only cost a few hundred pounds to put on, I think that we were partially subsidised and some services were given free and we made a lot of the costumes ourselves. I can remember machining for hours making the costumes for The Mikado and the print dresses for Goodnight Vienna when I was on night duty and unable to take part. On the whole we managed to break even with the help of the drama side, who were managing to put on one or two plays a year - who remembers The Bride and the Bachelor, Sailor Beware, Bonaventure, The Bride Comes Back to name but a few?
In contrast this year's show Brigadoon will cost £13,000 to put on, and our theatre prices remain very competitive. Over the last years we have quite a lot of fund raising for cancer research and for equipment for the Leicester Royal Infirmary. This is done by the Concert Party in the 'Quiet Season' and through jumble sales and social events.
There are still some hospital staff in the cast, and there are still some of the 'originals' taking a very active part.
Over the years there have been many changes of officers, producers, musical directors, choreographers. They have all added their talents and enthusiasm to make the IDOLS what they are, a Society which has become very well known in the City and County, a Society which has made and is still making a considerable contribution to local culture.
Do come and join us.