Who are we?
South Brent Amateur Dramatic Society is a bit of a mouthful, so we’re almost always known as SBADS. We usually stage two or three productions a year in South Brent Village Hall on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. We perform a wide variety of productions, ranging from one-man shows through full-cast plays to our larger-than-life and ever-popular pantomimes.
You can find out more about SBADS at our main website.
Our founder: Arthur Manning in his bandmaster’s uniform.
A Brief SBADS History
There’s an on-line version of our 100-year anniversary exhibition here.
The SBADS story begins in 1925 with an account of the lively musical and theatrical entertainments produced – and often written – by Mr Arthur Manning. This redoubtable gentleman was born in South Brent, and worked as a pianist, organist and then the leader of his own dance band. By the time he formed South Brent’s first amateur dramatic group in 1925, he was almost completely blind, but he was mainly responsible, with a little bit of help from his friends, for the village performances for the next 30 years. The name ‘SBADS’ was formally adopted in 1934, when a committee was formed to manage the group, and Arthur Manning’s involvement continued until 1959.
The ’40s & ’50s were golden years as the society flourished with a wide variety of drama and pantomime being performed. The arrival of television briefly dented our fortunes, but by the 1970s SBADS was back in full swing. We regularly won prizes from the South Devon Drama Federation… and continued to win prizes until the Federation folded in 2014.
Charles Tothill putting the ‘lid’ on William Windatt, watched by John Salter and Trevor Jones: SBADS Sleeping Beauty, 1949
The 1980s saw SBADS venture into revues alongside drama and the 1990s brought a very busy spell with up to five productions a year – drama, farce and pantomimes galore. SBADS even went on tour during this decade.
Now we are in the 21st century and, excepting a pandemic-driven hiatus, we are still busy with many different types of productions and learning new skills every step of the way.