Preparations for the 2012 summer tour of Utopia Limited are well in hand. The introductory meeting will be held at Holy Trinity Church, Prince Consort Road, South Kensington at 7pm on Tuesday, 21st February, with auditions by appointment on Saturday, 25th and Sunday, 26th February. The auditions are being held earlier than usual to allow a longer time for principals to learn their parts in this unfamiliar opera.

Tickets are now on sale for this year's Autumn concert on 9th November at Holy Trinity Church. E-mail tickets@newlog.org.uk to make a reservation.

Many thanks to everyone who expressed an interest in taking a solo part in the Autumn concert. Graham and Chris have been able to offer everyone who wanted something a solo.

Details of next summer's production of Utopia Limited are starting to appear on the newLOG website – please see "current productions" page for information about the opera, audition material and to see the edition of the libretto that the directors have prepared for the production. For further information on the tour, e-mail Chris@newlog.org.uk

This year's Autumn concert will include largescale scenes and a selection of smaller ensembles from a number of G&S operas. The concert will take place on Wednesday, 7th November at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington. Rehearsals will begin on Wednesday, 14th September. If you would like to take part, please e-mail graham@newlog.org.uk

Advance diary dates:
Next year's Louth spring concert will take place on Saturday, 10th March and the summer tour of Utopia Limited will perform on 14th, 15th and 16th June 2011

We are delighted to announce that next year’s summer tour to Louth will be a rare fully-staged production of the penultimate G&S opera, Utopia Limited. The production will be directed by Chris Cann and conducted by Graham Rogers, both great enthusiasts for the piece. It will be the largest production to date and requires a large cast and elaborate costumes. Please contact chris@newlog.org.uk for further details.

This year’s summer tour of HMS Pinafore was newLOG’s biggest commercial success to date. Both the Friday and Saturday performances were completely sold out and few than twenty seats remained for the Thursday evening. This set a new record for the company, even surpassing the 2005 production of The Pirates of Penzance. Special thanks go to Tony Blackmore at Louth Playgoers for masterminding the publicity campaign.

Final preparations for this year's newLOG's summer show, HMS Pinafore, are going to plan. Ticket sales are exceeding expectations and we are on course to achieve a new box office record.

There have been some cast changes since rehearsals began. The role of the carpenter will now be sung by Jamie Patterson and due to illness, Laura Anstice, sadly, has withdrawn from the role of Buttercup, which will now be performed by Fiona Steel. 

Sally Avery, Director of this year's newLOGs production of HMS Pinafore, is pleased to annouce the cast:

Josephine - Rebekah Engeler Buttercup - Laura "LJ" Anstice Hebe - Fay Carradine Sir Joseph Porter - Chris Cann Captain C - Ashley Mercer Ralph Rackstraw - David Menezes Dick Deadeye - James Hallet Boatswain - Jim Chadburn Carpenter - Dave Massingham

newLOG raises over a £1,000 for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami appeal with a special concert of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado. Chris Cann, Artistic Director, said "we have several members that have family and friends in Japan; and we wanted to do something to help after this catastrophic disaster"

This year’s spring concert proved to be an absolute sell-out, with even the filming seats being released for sale, due to popular demand. The Zoo proved a great hit with the people of Louth, most of whom were new to the work. Particular highlights included the comic attempts to revive the swooning Tom Brown (who ended up face down in a large custard pie) and Robert Felstead’s athletic leap into the “bear pit”, which drew gasps from the audience.

Preparations are now well advanced for the summer tour of Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore (15th-19th June). There will be an intro-meeting on Wednesday, 30th March at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington, with auditions on the following Sunday. If you would like to book an audition slot, please e-mail sally.r.avery@googlemail.com

Preparations for the Spring Louth concert on Saturday, 5th March are now well in hand. The cast for The Zoo is as follows:

Aesculapius Carboy                Robert Felstead
Thomas Brown                      Chris Cann
Mr Grinder                            Graham Rogers
Laetitia, his daughter            Rebekah Engeler
Eliza Smith                           Kirsty Bennett

Musical director and pianist will be Paul Guinery.

Tickets are available from the Riverhead Theatre box office on 01507 600 350

This year’s spring concert at the Riverhead Theatre on Saturday, 5th March will consist of a staged production of the charming one-act opera The Zoo, composed by Arthur Sullivan to a libretto by Bolton Rowe. The Zoo will be performed in a reduced format without chorus and with piano accompaniment. The second half of the programme will consist of excerpts from operas by Gilbert and Sullivan, both working together and with others.

Tickets are now on sale for newLOG's two concert performances of Bethlehem on 9th and 11th December. Tickets are £15 each (£10 concessions) and can be reserved by e-mailing tickets@newlog.org.uk

The Board are delighted to announce that next summer's touring production of HMS Pinafore will be directed by Sally Avery. Artistic Director Chris Cann said: "We are delighted that Sally has agreed to direct the 2011 Tour - her 2009 production of The Gondoliers was a superb debut and we look forward to another hit".

The 2010-11 season will be launched with a party at the Nell of Old Drury Pub in Covent Garden on Wednesday, 6th October. This will be a great opportunity to hear about this year's productions and catch up with friends ofter the summer.

The Dates for Bethlehem have now been confirmed. The two concert performances will take place on Thursday, 9th and Saturday, 11th December at 7.30pm. They will be conducted by Philip Sunderland in his newLOG debut with Graham Rogers as Chorus Master. Rehearsals start in mid-October. Full details appear on the Current Production page.

This year’s summer tour to Louth proved to be the most successful yet. Chris Cann’s sumptuous production of Princess Ida, conducted by Graham Rogers played to large audiences, exceeded only by those for The Pirates of Penzance in 2005. Saturday night was a complete sellout. The beautiful set for Castle Adamant (designed Tony Bannister) received its own round of applause at the start of Act II and the cast were cheered to the rafters at the final curtain. See “previous productions” for more details.

Preparations for newLOG’s summer tour of Princess Ida are well in hand – tickets are on sale from the Riverhead Theatre box office (01507-600350), priced £11.50.

The Cast has been announced for this summer’s production of Princess Ida. Director Chris Cann said that “this year, the auditions were of an even higher standard than usual and we were delighted that people had taken so much trouble in preparing – it is great to have a blend of familiar faces and company debuts”.

• Spring Show Spring Concert - Saturday 28th February 2009
• Summer Production - The Gondoliers - Thursday 18th June until Saturday 20th June 2009