Chads Theatre
From Site
Chads Theatre (Cheadle Hulme Amateur Dramatic Society) is based at the end of Mellor Road. There are currently six plays performed each year, as well as a youth production. In addition to theatre hire, Chads has one of the largest wardrobe departments in the north-west of England.
History
While the present theatre was built around 50 years ago, Chads originated in 1921 when members of Cheadle Hulme Cricket Club decided to form a dramatic society when it was realised that plays performed by its members to raise funds were popular and had outgrown the club. For the first few years, Chads did not have its own premises, and performed in places such as All Saints Church hall, the Elysian Cinema and The Kings Hall. A hut was built on Mellor Road, near the current site and this was the Chads headquarters until 1928 when a new site was acquired in the present location.
In the 1930s, with the opening of the Elysian Cinema on Station Road, membership and audience levels began to decline somewhat. As a consequence, the society began to publicise its plays. While membership levels certainly increased over the decade, the opening of The Kings Hall in 1937 may have hindered membership again.
When World War II broke out, there was a point where the society's future was questioned. Funds were lower, so there were fewer activities. Disruptions to play readings, such as air-raid warnings, meant that it became difficult to carry on with business. However, despite the problems, the society continued through the war years, remaining successful.
Following the war, fundraising for a new building went underway, as the hut was inadequate for the society's growing needs. The land, a garden of a house on Swann Lane, was leased in 1952. The site was prepared in 1955, and the building work began two years later. Disaster struck on 19 May 1959, a few months before the theatre became fully usable, when the old hut was destroyed by fire, along with props and furniture used in productions. It is possible early records were destroyed too.
The new theatre officially opened on 20 October 1959, and the first play to be performed was Dinner with the Family. An additional workshop room was added in July 1962 at £430, and a bar was built in 1969. Further additions in the 1970s included new dressing rooms upstairs.
A junior group became established in 1978, known as the Youth Studio. They were originally trained by older theatre members, but soon professional tutors took their place.
In the 1980s, alterations were made to the auditorium, and in the early 1990s a new costume department was built. Recent additions include an enlarged front of house, with a new ticket office, kitchen, toilets, and a rehearsal room upstairs.
Chads continues to produce plays each year, and further information can be found on their website, listed below.
External links
Source
- Information taken from "Chads Theatre Company The First Seventy-Five Years" by Mary Bedford, available at Cheadle Hulme Library.
