Just over sixty years ago, pupils and staff at St Martin's Secondary School for Boys in Shenfield would present an annual Gilbert and Sullivan operetta under the direction of Mr Cy Smith, assisted by Mr Les Hooper.

At the same time, on Friday nights at The Hutton Hostelry, some of the young staff and members of the Brentwood Rugby Club (predominantly a Welsh contingent) would, as the evening drew to a close, engage in some chorus singing. Cy used to revel in the atmosphere and suggested the group could form an operatic society, that would offer a continuation for the pupils leaving school. The headmaster, Mr Austin Witney, agreed they could use the name of the school on the understanding it was emphasised they were the adult section. 

So, on Friday nights, with an initial fund of £25 (which was put together by selling Christmas and birthday cards), the group began to assemble at the school; the male chorus formed of staff, rugby players and some senior pupils, the female chorus from wives and girlfriends. Hence St Martin's Operatic Society was formed.

Their debut production, South Pacific, was chosen because it required a strong male chorus, needed minimum costumes and the scenery could be constructed on site by the art department in their spare time.  Only about 10% of the cast had any stage experience, but they entered into rehearsals with gusto. They opened on 19 March 1962 to a fantastic reception from the audience - there was no going back. 

They eventually outgrew the school hall so in 1988, the name was changed to Shenfield Operatic Society and the group started performing at venues such as the Towngate Theatre (Basildon), The Essex Institute (Brentwood), Bishops Hill Adult Education Centre (Shenfield), Shenfield School, Thurrock Civic Hall and the Civic Theatre (Chelmsford). Since 1994, the Society has regularly performed at the Brentwood Theatre and since 2001, at the Queen's Theatre in Hornchurch. 

During the past 60 years, the Society has put on nearly 90 shows and numerous concerts. Some shows have inevitably been performed more than once – the top spot for most-performed show goes to The Mikado with five outings (seven if you include Hot Mikado!) - but SOS has still managed to perform a huge variety of different musicals over its long history.

This article was written by founder member Byron Davies in 2012 and adapted for the website by Jess Pether