The Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society will be performing at the Bandstand this year maybe for the final time and you G & S fans are in for a treat. You will be seeing the Society members as you have never seen them before. They will be performing “Trial by Jury” in its entirety plus other G & S pieces. The Society’s first performance will be on the Monday 6th August and their last performance will be the following Monday 13th August 2018.
It will be a sad moment for the Society that after thirty one years performing at the historic Bandstand they have to say goodbye. Of course it might have been a different story had the Council deemed to include the Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society in its publicity. Having seen last years publicity poster produced by the Council the printer’s type was so small and dark it was difficult to know who it was that was performing.
The Council invited the G & S Society to perform on the Bandstand on Monday 6th July 1987 and every Monday for seven more weeks thereby starting their first adventure at a new venue. The following year as well as the Bandstand Concerts they were invited to perform in the Isobel Jay Gala in Brighton which was held on the 27th May 1988. The Gala was organised by the Sussex branch of the G & S Society and comprised excerpts performed by Sussex societies. The Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society performed the finale of Act 1 of Ruddigore which they had recently presented at The Royal Hippodrome, Eastbourne.
On Saturday28th May, the Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society gave the first of the four private concerts that were held throughout the year at the Palm Court Hotel, Burlington Place, in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind. The Bandstand Concerts yielded over £33,000 for several charities, of which over £18,000 had been donated to Hazel Court School for children with learning difficulties.
It is a shame that the Council who manage the Bandstand tariff will not be providing all kinds of genre in the music world apart from Tribute Bands whose music will be loud enough to blow your mind. So you fans of Gilbert and Sullivan will have to make a date with the Society who produce a fully staged production at the famous historic Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne every month of May. I understand that next year the Society will be performing “The Gondoliers”.
It is interesting to note that the first concert given by the Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society had a audience of 350 persons because the Entertainment Management of the bandstand events advertised our concerts really well.
The Eastbourne bandstand was built in 1935. Its unique semi-circular design the first and only one of its kind anywhere in the United Kingdom. The first concerts were performed on the 28th July 1935 and the Bandstand was officially opened on the 5th August 1935 by the Lord Lieutenant of the county.
The Eastbourne Gilbert and Sullivan Society is 50 years old and “We Keep Gilbert and Sullivan Alive!”