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Crewe Amateur Musicals Society is a Registered Charity (No. 517235)

About Us
Crewe AMS (formerly Crewe AOS) perform in the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, which is a fine example of an Edwardian Theatre. We perform once per year by starting rehearsals around the first week in September and putting on the show in mid March.

Our main company rehearsal nights are Wednesday and Thursday evenings and after Christmas we will also be rehearsing on Sunday afternoons.

We generally accept people for the stage who are over 16 years of age after they have passed a singing audition but will accept trained dancers who can also sing. Occasionally we will take on children below 16 for special shows.

Other possibilities are for people who are interested in non-acting participation and they can help out with props, stage crew, general back stage work and also front of house help.

Our History
Although the Society was founded in 1923, it owes its existence to the inspiration of its founder Mr. E. G Hodgkison who, as Music Master at the Crewe County Secondary School in Ruskin Road, was responsible for a highly successful performance of The Mikado in 1921. This, and an equally successful performance the following year of H.M.S. Pinafore, was a school performance by pupils and staff. Having realised that there was a ready and eager audience for further productions, but that they would place too great a strain on normal school academic life, Mr. Hodgkison was instrumental in bringing about the formation of the Crewe County Secondary School Old Students Association Amateur Operatic Society. This almost impossibly long title soon became abbreviated to "The Old Studs".

The success of the early productions was such that the original venue, the old Town Hall (a building which has long since disappeared), was found to be inadequate and so the decision was taken to move to Crewe Theatre (The Lyceum Theatre as we know it today). Although the Society's officials at the time were a little apprehensive at such a move, this proved to be the start of a long and happy relationship with the Theatre. That relationship has continued to this day with only two enforced breaks; the first from 1939 to 1946 courtesy of a certain Mr. Hitler, and the second in 1994 when the Lyceum closed for its transformation into the fine building we have today, and we moved temporarily to the Danebank Theatre at the South Cheshire College.

Three changes in name have also taken place. The first, after the war, was simply to reflect the change in the name of the school itself from Secondary School to Grammar School. The second was in 1978 when the general introduction of comprehensive education meant that the old Grammar School had ceased to exist and the membership of the Society had also gradually changed to the extent that only a small proportion of members were actually "Old Students". It was with a certain degree of sadness then that the decision was made to change the name to Crewe Amateur Operatic Society. It doesn't have the same distinctive ring to it as the old full title, but it has probably saved quite a bit on printing costs! Nevertheless one still occasionally hears the Society affectionately referred to as "The Old Studs" . The third name change came in 2006 when the Society became the Crewe Amateur Musical Society

Another change which has sadly come about over the years has been from the original aims of raising money to donate to local deserving charities, to the Society itself becoming a registered charity and striving each year to ensure that the cost of production is matched by income from ticket and programme sales, advertising, sponsorship and fund raising. The responsibility placed on the committee as they strive to achieve this balance is more and more becoming a heavy one.

To keep our audiences coming through the doors it is vital to give them plenty of variety. Tastes are of course so diverse that it is impossible to find a show which suits everyone, and so it is important that we keep ringing the changes.