Tamworth thespians to celebrate as Tamworth Dramatic Society turns 75

He was just the latest in a decades-long line of Tamworth thespians who kicked off their careers in acting at the Tamworth Dramatic Society.

"I was still in high school, and that's how I got into the show," he said.

"My home room teacher, Glen Dodd - he was also in the show - and he said look you should come and audition for this, and I did.

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"What it did was show me that you can put so much work into how you tell a story and the more work you put in, the better that story is.

"That's the thing that keeps me coming back, whether that's as a performer, or as a director, as a designer."

Nearly 30 years on, Mr Gillett is now the long-standing president of the society, which is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year.

In its 75^th year, the society is returning to its roots in grand-scale comedy with a huge cast.

Its newest show, Clue, is a tribute to the organisation's first ever, the 1947 production of The Importance of Being Earnest, Mr Gillett said.

"It's an ensemble cast, like the importance of being earnest, it's a comedy and it's a period piece," he said.

"When we looked at what are the things that the society was formed to do, the best way we can do that is a show that has a big set which the community needs to come together and build.

The society is holding a party to celebrate the occasion at 7pm on July 29 at the town hall's Passchendaele Room - the building the society held its first show.

Former performers are welcome to attend but must RSVP.

Mr Gillett said live music had a special quality that is almost unique in an increasingly mediated world, where almost everything we see and hear is prepared hours or days in advance.

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The career he started as a 16-year-old, playing a university newspaper reporter in Alan Seymour's 1958 play about ANZAC Day, is still going strong, he said.

He even still has that original script.

"The reason I got into theatre was to meet girls, but what I actually got out of it was a lifetime of joy, of storytelling," he said.

"It hooks you in. There have been years when I haven't done a show for a while and you do, you miss it, you feel the pinch.

"It's a calling."

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