amdram.co.uk

In the middle of last week a garage/store that Garden Suburb Theatre maintain in Finchley was broken into and a huge number of valuable costumes were stolen. They are asking all societies to keep an eye open in case anyone tries to off load these for sale.

Tony Newton from the Society released the following information:

Well over 300 costumes were stolen, many of which are irreplaceable. They include the Munchkin Mayor’s costume needed for our production of Wizard of Oz in 2 weeks’ time.

The costumes included some mediaeval ones used in “The Lion in Winter,” some Tudor used in “The Prince and the Pauper” many Victorian and Edwardian such as those used in “Pygmalion” and “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

Some costumes date back to the earliest days of the society in 1910.

The society is unusual in making nearly all its own costumes and the Costume Team are proud of the fact they have won many awards for the accuracy and brilliance of their work. For many years we have hired out costumes to other societies.

Frances Musker who has been a leading light in making costumes for 40 years used to lecture in costume design at the V and A. She made the following comment: “To lose nearly all our costumes two weeks before our next show is devastating. I cannot imagine how we are going to replace them. The amount of detail and the range of costumes makes them a unique collection. I cannot even begin to think about how much they are all worth.”

We would like all drama societies and costume hire shops to be on the look out if they are offered costumes and report it directly to the police.

Contact Tony on 020 8888 1851 or the Chairman Terry Rogers on 020 8449 5565 if you have any information, or of course call the police direct.