The show must go on: ‘We have become woven into the fabric of Peterborough’s local theatre scene’

We now have a very lively social group that come together to make incredible theatre. We are all very close and have formed some long-lasting friendships, so much so that I call it the Westwood family. I even met my wife through Westwood.

Let me give you a brief history of our society.

In 1930, a then very small society formed by employees of Baker Perkins Ltd based at the Westwood Works site put on a production at the Rollerdrome in Peterborough. The following year they put on three more shows. In 1933 Baker Perkins closed their London site, and with the influx of people from Willesden came members of the Willesden Musical Society, the two societies soon got together and, in 1934, put on their first production.

The society went from strength to strength and in 1938 were the first amateur society to perform at the newly built 1500 seater Embassy Theatre. It was not unusual for performances to attract a total weekly audience of as many as 10,000 people.

So began something that, over the years, became an eagerly awaited event in Peterborough with the society producing a show every year.

With the closing of the factory in 1992 the long association with Baker Perkins ended but the society still proudly carries the name.

Since 1981 our new home has been The Key Theatre, where our reputation for producing first class, professional-looking West End style musicals is widely regarded as the best in the city.

Over the years The Key has undergone significant investment and the backstage facilities are second to none. The audience have a comfortable seat in the small, intimate auditorium and the bar area is well furnished.

Plus the addition of the Chalkboard café on site makes for the perfect venue.

We are very hopeful that our show, Made In Dagenham, will go ahead in February next year as this will mark our 40 years’ association with The Key Theatre which shows how highly we regard them as being the true home of live theatre in Peterborough.

Many people have trod the boards with us. All with varying abilities to sing , dance and act and very rarely you find someone that can do all three exceptionally well . One such person was Donna Steele, who made it to the dizzy heights of the West End stage.

I often get people say to me that they were once in Westwood or knew someone that was which goes to show how we have become woven into the fabric of the local theatre scene.

Live theatre being halted has affected so many people in different ways. There must be many professional and amateur theatre groups like Westwood that may go under. I read recently that Leicester Haymarket theatre has gone into administration. Although we are amateurs, we pay for a director, an orchestra and musical director, the set and props, costumes, licencing, theatre hire, printing and advertising. The group would go out to a restaurant after each evening performance. The list goes on, affecting many other trades.

Many people have said that if we can get on a plane and sit together for hours surely we can go to a theatre safely? This may go on for a long time and we can’t wait for Covid-19 to simply disappear.

The powers that be must find a way to live with it and get on with our normal daily lives in a safe and pleasant way.

Amateur theatre has its place in making life a little more pleasant. We can bring hit shows, big budget, huge cast, glitzy West End-type musicals to Peterborough at a fraction of London prices.

We need the theatres to be open when we are ready to go back. My personal goal is to still perform with Westwood in our 100 th year in 2030. I’ll drink to that …if I can get passed this mask I’m wearing.