Entertaining the Black Country since 1929
Willenhall Musical Theatre Company is an award-winning amateur musical and pantomime company that has entertained Black Country audiences since 1929. We rehearse in Bentley, Walsall, perform at the Dormston Mill Theatre in Sedgley, and welcome new members of every ability.
Wed 21 to Sun 25 April 2027/Dormston Mill Theatre, Sedgley
- Productions since 1930
- 95Productions since 1930
- NODA West Midlands wins
- 3NODA West Midlands wins
- Years by the 2027 season
- 98Years by the 2027 season
Now booking
DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt: A New Musical
Wed 21 to Sun 25 April 2027
Dormston Mill Theatre, Sedgley
Two brothers. One kingdom. A journey out of Egypt.
Every seat, every performance
£22.50
No booking fee
The company absorbs the Seaty and card fees itself, so the price you see is the price you pay. Nothing is added at checkout.
- Running time
- About 2 hours 30 minutes
- Performances
- 6, including 2 matinees
- Seats a night
- 344
Booking through Seaty
Six performances
Wednesday 21 April to Sunday 25 April 2027 at the Dormston Mill Theatre, Sedgley. Choose a night below and you will go straight to the seating plan for that performance.
The story of Moses, and the brother he lost
The Prince of Egypt is the stage musical of the DreamWorks animated film, telling the story of Moses and Rameses: two brothers raised together in the Egyptian royal household, whose bond breaks when Moses learns he was born a Hebrew slave. What follows is exile, return, the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, but the show plays it as a drama about family, duty and faith rather than spectacle alone. Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) wrote the music and lyrics, keeping the songs from the film, including "Deliver Us", "All I Ever Wanted" and the Academy Award winning "When You Believe", and adding new numbers written for the stage. The book is by Philip LaZebnik. Willenhall Musical Theatre Company stages it in April 2027.
Music & Lyrics
Stephen Schwartz
Book
Philip LaZebnik
Based on
the DreamWorks Animation film
Who is making it
Director
Alf Rai
Alf returns to direct, having led many of WMTC's recent productions, including The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, Shrek the Musical and Priscilla Queen of the Desert. After many years on stage he moved into directing, and also directs for Harlequin Pantomimes and South Staffs MTC.
Choreographer
Abbie Sellick
A lifelong lover of dance and theatre, Abbie takes the choreographer's chair for The Prince of Egypt after making her choreography debut on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Musical Director
Rob Murray
A professional musical director, orchestrator and educator who studied at the University of Chichester. Credits include Beauty and the Beast and Top Hat at Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre, plus productions at the Theatre Royal Nottingham and the Lichfield Garrick. Company Director of Music Academy for Schools.
Creative Director
Abbie Wild
Creative Director, a role created especially for this production. Works alongside the director, choreographer and musical director, taking an overview of the whole production and helping the creative vision come together across every department. Also a member of the WMTC committee.
DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt: A New Musical. This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorised performance materials are supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.co.uk
In the press
What the reviewers wrote
“The staging was imaginative and fast paced and the singing was excellent backed up by a first class orchestra.”
“There isn't a weak musical number in this Gershwin musical and the talented cast did all of them justice.”
“Abbie Rai (Alice Fitzwarren) showed us what a talented performer she is in singing, acting and dancing.”
“The Deadwood Stage is thundering through the Black Country in great style with this talented company on board delivering a musical simply packed with catchy tunes.”
“It has cost 21,000 pounds to stage this excellent show which includes many scene changes, colourful costumes, a realistic twister storm and even tap dancing.”
“Alf Rai, who has proved a real find for the company, is excellent as Jesus, with Chris Dowen a confident Judas in his first principal role for the society.”
“There is no denying however that Willenhall Musical Theatre Company's version pulls out all the stops to delight and entertain.”
Awards
2024
Best Musical
Beauty and the Beast
NODA West Midlands
2014
Best Musical
Thoroughly Modern Millie
NODA West Midlands
2013
Best Pantomime
Aladdin
NODA West Midlands
The archive
Ninety-five productions
From Pearl the Fishermaid at the Wesleyan Schools in March 1930 to The Prince of Egypt in April 2027. Every show the company has staged, and the years it could not.
2020s
6 productions
- 2027The Prince of EgyptOn sale
- 2026Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- 2025The Wizard of Oz
- 2024Beauty and the BeastNODA winner
- 2023Shrek the Musical
- 2022Priscilla Queen of the Desert
- 2020
- 2021
2020 to 2021
The coronavirus pandemic
Theatres across the country went dark. The company returned in 2022 with Priscilla Queen of the Desert.
2010s
17 productions
- 2019Sister Act
- 2018Half a Sixpence
- 2018Now That's What I Call Entertainment 2018Concert
- 2017Anything Goes
- 2017WMTC ConcertConcert
- 2016Me and My Girl
- 2016WMTC ConcertConcert
- 2015Crazy For You
- 2015Dick WhittingtonPantomime
- 2015Magic of the MusicalsConcert
- 2014Thoroughly Modern MillieNODA winner
- 2013AladdinPantomimeNODA winner
- 2013Calamity Jane
- 2012Wizard of Oz
- 2011Godspell
- 2011Mother GoosePantomime
- 2010Pirates of Penzance
2000s
10 productions
- 2009South Pacific
- 2008Little Shop of Horrors
- 2007Guys and Dolls
- 2006Billy
- 2005Me and My Girl
- 2004Oklahoma
- 2003Kiss Me Kate
- 2002Oliver!
- 2001Hot Mikado
- 2000Godspell
1990s
10 productions
- 1999Mame
- 1998My Fair Lady
- 1997Anything Goes
- 1996Irene
- 1995The Pajama Game
- 1994Blitz
- 1993Charlie Girl
- 1992Oklahoma
- 1991Guys and Dolls
- 1990Annie
1980s
10 productions
- 1989Show Boat
- 1988Chrysanthemum
- 1987Fiddler on the Roof
- 1986Calamity Jane
- 1985Finian's Rainbow
- 1984South Pacific
- 1983The Gipsy Princess
- 1982Hello Dolly
- 1981Annie Get Your Gun
- 1980The Count of Luxembourg
1970s
10 productions
- 1979Kiss Me Kate
- 1978Valley of Song
- 1977Rose Marie
- 1976The Gipsy Baron
- 1975The Merry Widow
- 1974Cavalcade of ShowsRevue
- 1973The Desert Song
- 1972My Fair Lady
- 1971Night in Venice
- 1970The Three Musketeers
1960s
10 productions
- 1969New Moon
- 1968Carousel
- 1967Gipsy Love
- 1966The Student Prince
- 1965Good Night Vienna
- 1964Calamity Jane
- 1963White Horse Inn
- 1962Rio Rita
- 1961Wild Violets
- 1960Annie Get Your Gun
1950s
10 productions
- 1959Rose Marie
- 1958Call Me Madam
- 1957The Desert Song
- 1956Balalaika
- 1955Oklahoma
- 1954Nina Rose
- 1953Carissima
- 1952Magyar Melody
- 1951Castles in Spain
- 1950The Gipsy Princess
1940s
3 productions
- 1949Floradora
- 1948Katinka
- 1947Viktoria and her Hussar
- 1939
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
- 1943
- 1944
- 1945
- 1946
1939 to 1946
The Second World War
The Arcadians in 1938 was the last production before the war. The company did not stage another until Viktoria and her Hussar in 1947, by which time it had moved from the Wesleyan Schools to Willenhall Baths.
1930s
9 productions
- 1938The Arcadians
- 1937The Geisha
- 1936Floradora
- 1935Les Cloches de Cornevilles
- 1934HMS Pinafore
- 1933San Toy
- 1932The Country Girl
- 1931The Count of Como
- 1930Pearl the Fishermaid
The company has kept its membership records since 1929, which is how it can still confirm long service when a member is put forward for a NODA medal. Bill Hurd, a founder member, appeared in every show until he retired in 1983 after fifty-four years.
The company
Award-winning theatre, made by your neighbours
Willenhall Musical Theatre Company is an award-winning amateur musical and pantomime company that has entertained Black Country audiences since 1929. We rehearse in Bentley, Walsall, perform at the Dormston Mill Theatre in Sedgley, and welcome new members of every ability.
Each year the company stages a full-scale musical, from timeless classics to modern hits, with a family pantomime from time to time. Members get involved in every part of a production, on stage and behind the scenes, from sets, props and costumes to stage crew and front of house.
Join us
No experience needed. Just a love of theatre.
Whether you have performed for years or have never set foot on a stage, you are welcome. Applications go to the committee, and on-stage membership normally follows an audition. Anyone not offered an on-stage place can still join off stage, where the sets, props, costumes, sound, lighting, refreshments and front of house get done.
Rehearsals
Mondays and Fridays, 7:30pm
Full chorus rehearsals are on Fridays at 7:30pm and principal rehearsals are on Mondays at 7:30pm. Friday rehearsals run to about 10pm with a break for refreshments partway through. Extra rehearsals are added closer to the show as needed, usually on a Sunday.
St Andrews ChurchChurchill Road, Bentley, WalsallWS2 0AA
Membership
£100 a year, in two instalments
- Acting members£100, two payments of £50
- Juniors, under 18£50
- Non-acting members£25
Acting subscriptions are payable in two instalments of £50, the first by 31 December and the second by 1 March. There is no joining fee, and the membership season runs from 1 September to 31 August.
How to join
- 01Message the company on Facebook, or speak to any committee member.
- 02Come to a rehearsal to meet everyone, with no commitment. Turn up at the hall just before 7:30pm on a Friday and ask for a committee member.
- 03Fill in a membership form and pay your subscription.
Questions
98 years of answering the same eight things, gathered in one place.
When and where do you rehearse?
Full chorus rehearsals are on Fridays at 7:30pm and principal rehearsals are on Mondays at 7:30pm, at St Andrews Church, Churchill Road, Bentley, Walsall WS2 0AA. Friday rehearsals finish around 10pm with a break for refreshments. Extra rehearsals, usually on a Sunday, are added closer to the show.
Where do you perform?
At the Dormston Mill Theatre, Mill Bank, Dormston School, Sedgley DY3 1SN.
Do I need experience to join?
No. Whether you have performed for years or have never set foot on a stage, all you need is enthusiasm and a love of theatre. New members are always welcome.
How do I join?
Message us on Facebook or speak to any committee member, come along to a rehearsal to meet everyone with no commitment, then complete a membership form and pay your annual subscription. You can also simply turn up at the hall just before 7:30pm on a Friday and ask to speak to a committee member. All applications are approved by the committee, and on-stage membership normally follows an audition.
How much does membership cost?
£100 a year for acting members, paid in two instalments of £50 (the first by 31 December, the second by 1 March), £50 for juniors under 18, and £25 for non-acting members. There is no joining fee.
I do not want to be on stage. Can I still get involved?
Yes. Non-acting members are the backbone of every show, helping with sets, props, costumes, stage crew, sound and lighting, refreshments and front of house.
Where can I park at the theatre?
Free parking at Mill Bank (Dormston School car park, DY3 1SL), one minute away, though it fills up fast. Pay and display at the Main High Street car park (DY3 1RP) and Vicar Street (DY3 1SB), both three minutes away, and Brick Street behind the Bulls Head (DY3 1NT), five minutes away.
How do I buy tickets?
Online through Seaty at seaty.co.uk, using the tag for the show you want. The company absorbs the booking and card fees, so you pay no extra to book online.
The company has staged 95 productions since 1930 and is a member of NODA, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association.
Visit
The Dormston Mill Theatre
An intimate 344 seat theatre in Sedgley, where the company has performed for years. Good acoustics, comfortable seats, and a clear view of the stage from everywhere in the room.
Mill BankDormston SchoolSedgleyDY3 1SN- Finding the entrance
- Enter through the steel gates and make your way to the main entrance. Go right and up the spiral staircase and you will be in the theatre lobby.
- what3words
- ///energy.daisy.ahead for the entrance, ///oldest.watch.pocket for the theatre itself.
Where to park
1 min walk
Mill Bank (Dormston School Car Park)
DY3 1SL/Free parking
Off Mill Bank. Usually fills up fast.
3 min walk
Main High Street Car Park
DY3 1RP/Pay and display
Between Mayflower Chinese and the barbers. Enter via Townsend Avenue, Sedgley High Street or Ettymore Road.
3 min walk
Vicar Street Car Park (near Iceland)
DY3 1SB/Pay and display (via parking apps)
Off Vicar Street.
5 min walk
Brick Street Car Park (behind the Bulls Head)
DY3 1NT/Pay and display
Behind the Bulls Head pub. Enter off Bilston Street or High Street.
Next through those doors: The Prince of Egypt, Wed 21 to Sun 25 April 2027.
Book tickets