One early Tuesday morning in 1959, Syd Smith’s life was changed forever.
At 21 years old, he learned that his father, a Broughty Ferry Lifeboat Crew member, had been lost at sea.
But that night, instead of breaking down, Syd dutifully got on stage and played the part of King Gama in Broughty Ferry Amateur Operatic Society’s production of Princess Ida.
“It was a traumatic time,” recalls Syd, now 84 and still a Ferry resident. “Early Tuesday morning, the boat was lost. And I played that part all week.
“It must have been the adrenaline that kept me going. And they gave me a lifetime membership for carrying on.”
Syd went on to become president of the society before eventually coming off the stage around 24 years ago.
And his is just one of the many extraordinary stories of resilience, determination and community spirit across 100 years of Broughty Ferry Amateur Operatic Society, known fondly as ‘Broughty’.
Barnhill rebels yearned for Gilbert & Sullivan
Founded in 1923 after a group of Barnhill Musical Society members broke away to start their own society ‘with a dramatic art component’, Broughty originally struggled to find its feet.
Records reveal that musical directors AJ Forbes and Clarence Stewart took care of the musical direction, but without a producer on board, the inaugural performance – Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, advertised to premiere in March 1924 – was still languishing in the rehearsal stage until just a couple of weeks before opening night.
Fortunately, a Mr AJB Ramsay swept in at the last minute to steer the production through the bumps of those early years, and 100 years later, the society is still going strong, performing operettas (downscaled, humorous operas) annually in the Whitehall or Gardyne theatres in Dundee.
But it’s fair to say that Broughty has faced some big challenges over the last century.
Soldiers took over rehearsal space in WW2
For two years during the Second World War, the society was made homeless after their rehearsal space, Templar Hall, was requisitioned by the military authorities.
But as Syd would later prove, the show must go on, and the society performed fan favourite operettas Trial By Jury and Iolanthe at St James’ Church Hall and the Alhambra Picture House in Monifieth during that nomadic time.
Nowadays, they have a permanent rehearsal space in the Ferry’s Burgh Hall; but Broughty’s roadblocks haven’t just been logistical, they’ve been financial too.
Another former president, Garry Fraser, reveals that at the 50th anniversary performance back in 1973, the top ticket price was a whopping 80p.
This year, a ticket to their centenary production of White Christmas comes in at £18, showing how inflation and the cost of living has hiked up prices over the last 50 years.
Sign of the times
“It costs about £30,000 to put a show on these days,” Garry reveals. “By the time you get the orchestra, the set, hire a theatre and sound equipment, it all builds up.
“Back in the 80s when I joined, it was nothing like that.”
Indeed, the recently-dissolved Dundee Operatic Society, who were forced to fold after reaching their own centenary last year, are a prime example of the challenges facing Broughty: rising costs, dwindling audiences and a saturation of local societies.
“They were the oldest society, however I guess now Broughty is the oldest musical society in Dundee,” observes current Broughty president Paul Campbell.
“It is such a shame, I guess it’s a sign of the times.”
However, Ferry resident Paul, 56, stresses that despite the obstacles facing it, Broughty is going strong, and “not giving up any time soon”.
“I obviously will not be around for the 200th anniversary,” he jokes. “But I see no reason why there couldn’t be one!”
Twa teams rivalry made it to the stage
Violinist Syd, cellist Garry and trumpet-player Paul joined the society at very different points during the last century – 1957, 1978 and 2013 respectively.
But all three agree that it’s the tight-knit friendships, ‘Ferry family’ and sense of fun which is the secret to Broughty’s lasting success – and that recruiting more and more members is what will get the society through the next 100 years.
“One of my first shows, I was part of a jury, and we were told that as a jury, we could wear whatever we wanted,” recalls Dundee resident Garry with a smile.
“So this guy said he was going to dress as a Dundee United fan. I said: ‘Ok, I’ll dress as a Dundee fan’. That’s my friend David, we’ve known each other since then and we’re still friends.
“I did 35 of the 100 years, and came away with loads of photographs, happy memories and friends.”
Paul reckons the mix of ages in the society keeps him young, adding: “We all look after each other, make sure everybody gets home and that sort of thing.
“I’m self-employed and I work from home, so the weekly rehearsals at Broughty are my main social outlet.
“I think after the pandemic, people are more aware of having a bit of social time and fun time for themselves, so I’m really pleased to see that over the last two years, we’ve had a lot of new members joining.”
Broughty’s real-life love stories
Although performers “need to be able to sing”, Paul stresses that there are roles in the society for the less tuneful among us, including wardrobe, hair and make-up, and set design.
And for Garry, “keeping the amateur ethos” of the society is hugely important.
“You could have a postie or a doctor – or even a journalist – on stage!” he smiles. “It’s meant to be a fun thing. There’s no point in doing something that’s too serious.”
While it’s become synonymous in recent years with productions of a less professional standard, the word ‘amateur’ actually comes from ‘amare’, the Latin word for love.
And while there’s certainly a lot of love that goes into Broughty productions, there’s even more that comes out of them!
“Like a number of others, I met my wife at Broughty,” reveals Syd, who has been married to Christine, 81, for over 60 years.
“When I was going up to the university [Queen’s College], she worked in Draffens. I would walk past the window when she was doing window dressing and just wave.
“Eventually she joined Broughty, we got together, and that was it!”
Garry, too, met the love of his life through operetta, when he was a musician in the orchestra pit playing cello – despite complaining that, on stage at least, “basses never get the girls”.
“My wife was in Tayport Musical Society, so I met her through the societies in the early ‘80s,” he recalls.
“I was in the pit, she was on the stage. I looked up, she looked down and that was it. We’re going on 37 years now.”
Audience ‘will love’ White Christmas
Paul – who didn’t meet his wife at Broughty, but has been joined on stage by his dad, sister and son – admits that being the president for the centenary performance is “a bit daunting”, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, and the sad passing of late long-time musical director Frances Irons.
“It is an honour,” he says, “but it’s also rather stressful! Obviously we’re totally self-funded, and coming out of the pandemic when there was so much uncertainty as to whether people would even come to the theatre… the last thing I wanted was for us to fail.
“But after our comeback with Sister Act this year, I feel a bit better about things. And this year’s production, White Christmas is just such a fantastic show.
“The cast love doing it, and the audience will love watching it.”
It’ll be alright on the night
If there’s one thing Paul’s not nervous about, it’s mishaps and hiccups on the night – because that’s to be expected.
“The thing about live theatre is that you know things are going to go wrong. Nothing runs 100% smoothly, so you just really have to go with it,” he laughs.
Recalling one particularly cringe-worthy production of Kiss Me, Kate, Paul says: “We got on the stage and we were sitting on the stage, ready to go, and the curtain went up, but it was very quiet. So we looked down, and the orchestra were still backstage!
“It was probably only two or three minutes while they shuffled in, much to the amusement of the audience, but it felt like hours.
“That’s the thing about the stage – things do feel like forever when you’re kind of exposed!”
But that’s not to say the performers don’t take their roles seriously.
Rehearsals run twice a week – Mondays for principle parts, Wednesday for the chorus – and for stalwarts like Garry, the devil was always in the details.
“My biggest part was playing Doolittle in My Fair Lady,” he recalls.
“It was a big part with a Cockney accent, and to do the accent properly, you’ve got to do your research.
“So I was watching EastEnders non-stop!”
White Christmas, celebrating 100 years of Broughty Ferry Amateur Operatic Society, will take place at the Gardyne Theatre from November 21-25 2023. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the society’s website.
