Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Blend of experience and youth stands Amateur Operatics in good stead
PERTH Amateur
Operatic Society is busy rehearsing for its next show, The Wedding Singer, which goes ahead at the Fair City’s theatre in April next year.
As has been the case for a number of years, the society has a rich blend of youth and experience to call upon.
Anne Kemp, a former editor at DC Thomson, is now 64 but still treading the boards with aplomb. Among the younger element is Scott Jewell, a 23-year-old who is the business manager at Perth Grammar School. He joined the company just last year having been encouraged to do so. He said: “A couple of folk nipped my head about going into the Am Ops and I’m glad I did.
“I am thoroughly enjoying being part of things.
“I’ve done shows in the past with other groups and I’m looking forward to what the future holds as a member of this society.”
Scott has a link to Anne as he explained.
“My granny, Isobel Robertson, appeared alongside Anne in several Am Ops productions in the past. Now I am appearing alongside her.” Anne is one of the longest serving performers in the group.
She recalled: “I joined in 1974-75 and have been in most of the shows since then.
“My first performance was in The Count Of Luxembourg where I appeared in the chorus. “I went on to have main parts as Dolly in Hello Dolly, the Mother Superior in Sister Act and I have twice been Kate in Kiss Me Kate.”
As befits someone who has been in the society for such a long time, Anne still gets a kick out of being on stage.
And it was a kick that once caused her a problem.
She explained: “In one show I was doing the can-can and pulled a hamstring.
“However, I soldiered on and battled through the pain.”
Kat Grieve is to direct
The Wedding Singer with Angus Reid being musical director.
The society has been on the go for many years with several members going on to fame in the acting world.
Among them are Alan Vicary who has performed with distinction on the London West End stage in Les Miserables and Phantom Of The Opera and also in a series of TV roles including Taggart. Ralph Riach is another acting luminary who came through the Perth Am Ops ranks.
He has gone on to TV and film roles, playing a priest in Braveheart, as well as taking the role of TV John in the Hamish Macbeth series.
Other TV appearances include Chancer, The Bill, Monarch Of The Glen, Taggart, Peak Practice, Doctor Finlay and Tutti Frutti.
Fiona Fletcher Mathers is another who is a familar face on TV with roles in Doctor Finlay and Shetland.