Chester Gang Show 59 Years On
Chester Gang Show began as "Scoutabout" as a joint venture between the 8th & 13th Chester Scout Groups back in 1953. We ran for two nights plus a matinee, starting on a very cold Friday night the 16th of January, until Saturday 17th. The original venue was in the Cathedral Refectory fitted out with a stage, while the dressing rooms were in the cloisters; if there was ever cause for a haunting by the original occupants that was it.
Within three years we moved on to another historic but more appropriate berth, the original Victorian Chester Royalty Theatre where we performed until its closure in 1965. From then on we moved to The Chester Gateway
Theatre in 1969 after two shows in the enormous ABC Cinema, until the main Gateway auditorium was itself closed in 2007.
Our longest serving producer (Roy Fisher) with 32 shows to his credit steered the ship until 1995 and we received the Scout Association Gang Show Red Scarf award in year 2000, when Matt Davies had taken over. The next two producers were Richard Clarke, (up to 2007 after which we finally left the Gateway Theatre), and then Keith Harding in 2008, when we transferred to The King’s School Chester until 2010 and then Chester Catholic High School in 2011. Now, we are working on Gang Show 2012 which will be appearing at the new Vanbrugh Theatre at The King's School Chester. That, in a nutshell, is a an abbreviated version of our tale of rags to riches but, if you want to find out more, click on the Gang Show History or the Appreciation of Roy Fisher items on the menu.
55 Shows to date
This year we are once more on the move. Following our blockbusting performance at the Catholic High School in 2011 the next show will be returning to the King's School Chester and will be performed in the recently completed Vanbrugh Theatre. The facilities in this new auditorium are truly fabulous including tiered seating and an impressive stage, supported by a very high standard of installed sound and lighting equipment. So this year we invite you all to join us yet again to see the show and to discover what this new venue has to offer.
If you now click on the button to call up our magic self-calculating booking form, the ultimate gateway to thrills and amazement; all will be revealed. We are not difficult to find, simply insert The King's School’s postcode into your satellite navigation system or Google map and then rattle the buttons. If you haven’t been before then why not give it a try?