Welcome to the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Western Australia!

Established in 1951 by Bernard Manning, the Society has been a major contributor to the musical life of Perth. Many national and indeed international performers have received some of their earliest stage musical experiences through the Society.

The Society has always aspired to be be an amateur company performing at a professional standard. To this end, we have been fortunate in securing the services of some of Australia's best-known and talented directors and musical directors.

News

Coming productions: A Land of Smiles, June 2012; The Mikado, September-October 2012
2012 promises to be a busy and exciting year for the Society and its audiences. See our Productions page for details of our upcoming productions of a G&S favourite, and a Viennese operetta written by Franz Lehar, composer of The Merry Widow.

Summerset Festival - February 2012
Following the success of “Potted Pirates” in 2011 the Society was invited by the City of Stirling to provide a similar entertainment at Scarborough Beach in 2012.  This we did with a performance of a slightly abridged version of “HMS Pinafore” (a “Pithy Pinafore” if you will).  Directed by Alan Needham with Elizabeth Needham as musical director, and in the wonderful summer evening at the amphitheatre, a cast of some 30 regular G & S performers entertained an audience of about 1500.

The Gondoliers - October 2011
The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s 60th Anniversary Production was staged at the Octagon Theatre (on the University of WA campus) between the 6th and 15th October before enthusiastic and appreciative audiences.
It is the first production of the Society in this venue and we were all impressed by the facilities at the Octagon.  The orchestra pit (which is not often used) proved to be most satisfactory for our purposes and the general impression was that this is a venue we can continue to use for our major productions.

Sir Charles Court Centenary Dinner - September 2011
The late Sir Charles Court was patron of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society from 1974 until his passing in 2007.  In view of his long association and of his son Victor Court’s current association with the Bullock Trust the Society was asked to provide entertainment at a special dinner held on 29th September.  Several of the cast of The Gondoliers provided excerpts from that show and were well received by the 270 audience at that dinner.  The Society President, Max Page, gave a brief address outlining Sir Charles’ musical achievements, his contribution to the Gilbert and Sullivan Society and his support for the arts in general (click here to read the address).