LEADING MANX THEATRE
The Douglas Choral Union (DCU) first took to the stage in 1896, and are celebrating our 125th birthday in 2021! We have since delivered well over 100 shows of superior quality. With our spiritual home in the magnificent Gaiety Theatre, a night out to watch a DCU show is undoubtedly an annual highlight of the Manx social calendar.
Today’s productions are considered to be second only to the professional shows found in London’s famous West End. Whilst the island may be small, it is clear to see that it has a wealth of talent as evidenced by the standard of productions staged here.
It is easy to forget that the DCU is an ‘amateur’ society and its members (both on and offstage) work full time, are in education, or have families. Despite these commitments, the members fully commit to the many hours of rehearsing to produce high caliber shows that can compete with professional productions. The DCU is grateful to its members for all their hard work and dedication, and is proud to have a long history of casting great local talent in all its productions.
The Society is also able to work with top directors, musical directors, and choreographers, who all bring their own talent and skills to the productions, together with professionally built sets, props, costumes, and professional lighting and sound, this ensures patrons will have a night at the Gaiety to remember.
Over the years, the DCU has had the privilege of performing some of the industry’s top shows. In 2009, the DCU obtained the first amateur licence to perform “Les Miserables”, a performance that was a massive success. It also led the licensees offering the DCU the opportunity in 2010 to stage Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The Society has also been privileged to stage a diverse genre of shows from the classic “My Fair Lady”, to the moving “Miss Saigon”, through to the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” in 2016. Then followed three years of Island premieres with “The Producers” (2017), “9 to 5” (2018) and “Spamalot” (2019) and “Sound of Music” in 2020. For our 2021 125th anniversary we performed “Shrek the Musical” and will be following that us in 2022 with “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”