About us
The company as it stands today
Founded in 1929 as Willenhall Operatic Society, and known by its present name since 2011. 91 productions later it is still run by a committee elected every year, and still rehearsing on a Friday night in Bentley.
- 91Productions since 1930
- 1929Founded as Willenhall Operatic Society
- 3NODA West Midlands wins
In full
What the company is
Willenhall Musical Theatre Company is one of the region's leading amateur theatre companies, entertaining audiences since 1929. Founded as Willenhall Operatic Society, the company took its present name in 2011. Each year it stages a full-scale musical, from timeless classics to modern hits.
It has also staged three pantomimes, the last of them in 2015. It is an award-winning company, dedicated to keeping the performing arts alive and attainable for everyone, and it aims to produce theatre of a professional standard while keeping rehearsals relaxed, creative and enjoyable. 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.
The company rehearses at St Andrews Church in Bentley, Walsall, and performs at the Dormston Mill Theatre in Sedgley. No experience is needed to join, only enthusiasm and a love of theatre.
“The objectives of the Company are to educate the public in the musical and theatrical arts, and to further the development of public appreciation and taste in the said arts.”
The committee
Eight volunteers, elected every year
The committee is elected at the annual general meeting, and every one of them has to offer themselves for re-election the following year. Any member of the company can stand.
None of them is paid for it. The company's own rules are explicit that no member of the committee may receive remuneration for serving on it, so the season gets organised, the hall gets booked and the tickets get sold by eight people doing it in their own time, on top of being members of the company like everybody else.
President
Jenni Rullan
Chair
Kay Corbett
Vice-Chair
Alf Rai
Secretary
Colin Hunt
Treasurer
Barbara King
Ticket Secretary
Chris Spittle
Committee Member
Kelly Ashman
Committee Member
Abbie Wild
Committee members are around at every rehearsal, so the simplest way to speak to one is to come to the hall on a Friday evening and ask.
Awards
Three wins from NODA West Midlands
The company is a member of NODA, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, whose regional representatives review amateur productions across the country and give the awards that go with them.
- 2024Beauty and the BeastBest MusicalNODA West Midlands
- 2014Thoroughly Modern MillieBest MusicalNODA West Midlands
- 2013AladdinBest PantomimeNODA West Midlands
Two further productions were put forward for the Best Production award for the Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire region of NODA West Midlands: The Pirates of Penzance in 2010 and The Wizard of Oz in 2012. Both were nominations rather than wins.
The company
Award-winning theatre, made by your neighbours
Willenhall Musical Theatre Company is an award-winning amateur musical theatre 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. 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.
In loving memory
The ones we have lost
A company that has been going since 1929 is a long chain of people handing something on. These five are remembered in the words WMTC printed for them in its own programmes.
- Laura LeoMomma Ogre, lead vocalist, wardrobe mistress, and the maker of costumes so her friends would shine.
- Roger StokesThirty years of leading roles, from Mr Levi in Blitz to Monsignor O’Hara in Sister Act. And a bit of a poet.
- John ArnoldChairman for fifteen years, and a committee member to the end. Big Jule in Guys and Dolls was his favourite.
- Mike BarlowSixty-six years with the company, and President. Never took a leading role on stage, and led it anyway.
- Tom BradleyStage manager for twenty-one years, Life Member, and Joint President. Sixty years of service.
Where we work
Bentley on a Friday, Sedgley on the night
The company rehearses in a church hall in Bentley, Walsall, and performs at the theatre attached to Dormston School in Sedgley. Neither is glamorous. A great many shows have been made in them.
Rehearsals
St Andrews ChurchChurchill RoadBentleyWalsallWS2 0AAFull 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.
Performances
Dormston Mill TheatreMill BankDormston SchoolSedgleyDY3 1SNEnter through the steel gates and make your way to the main entrance. Go right and up the spiral staircase and you are in the theatre lobby.
Parking, directions and what to expectAccessibility at the Dormston Mill Theatre is not documented. Nothing is recorded anywhere about step-free access, wheelchair spaces, a hearing loop or accessible toilets, and the only access note the company holds describes a spiral staircase up to the lobby. If you need to know before you book, please ask on Facebook and we will find out.
Join us
Be in the next one
Applications go to the committee, and a place on stage normally follows an audition. Anyone not offered an on-stage place is welcome off it, where the sets, props, costumes, sound, lighting, refreshments and front of house get done.
The company does not publish an email address or a telephone number, so Facebook is the way to reach the committee, about joining or about tickets. You are also welcome to turn up at the hall just before 7:30pm on a Friday and ask for a committee member.