Chester Memories: Tip Top Productions celebrates its 20th anniversary this year

By Chester Chronicle on Aug 18, 09 12:24 PM in 1900-1999

The amateur theatrical company started life as Tip Top Musicals in 1989 in partnership with Grove Park Little Theatre in Wrexham.

The group went from strength to strength and the company's first full scale musical, Annie was staged at Chester's Gateway Theatre in July 1992 followed by La Cage Aux Folles.

Tip Top kept up a close relationship with the Gateway Theatre with a production every summer and in 2002 chose the theatre's Manweb Studio to present Mary O'Malley's Once A Catholic.

In March 2007 The Gateway Theatre was closed to make way for the new performing arts centre as part of the Northgate Development and Tip Top's last production on the main stage was Hello Dolly!.

Within months it became obvious that the new development was not going to go ahead as planned and Tip Top approached Chester City Council to negotiate a lease that would allow them to perform in the basement studio theatre.

By August the company had moved in and freshened up the front of house and in September presented We Love Musicals in the newly-named Forum Studio Theatre.

In the two years that Tip Top Productions has been resident in the theatre the company has produced 11 in-house productions, taken in five professional companies, hosted shows and concerts and offered musical theatre workshops for children and adults.

Past and present members of the company chose The Forum to celebrate the company's special birthday.

Artistic director Peter Swingler OBE toasted the company's success before entertainment from singer Ceri-lyn Cissone and magician Paul Dabek, both Tip Top members. The evening was rounded off with a sing-a-long led by Matt Baker.

Tip Top is still going strong and the 2009-2010 season includes Aladdin, Chester's first traditional pantomime for 60 years. Other plans include a revamp of the outside of the building and improvements to the front of house.

For more information on Tip Top's forthcoming productions visit www.tiptopproductions.co.uk

Tip Top Productions at the Gateway Theatre
1992 Annie
1993 La Cage Aux Folles
Feb 1994 La Cage Aux Folles
Jan 1995 The Sound of Music
Jul 1995 Hello, Dolly!
July 1996 Oliver!
Jun 1998 Godspell
May 1999 My Fair Lady
Jan 2000 Lord Mayor's Variety Show
May 2000 Cabaret
Mar 2001 West End to Broadway
Mar 2001 Bouncers
May 2001 Annie
Jan 2002 Cinderella
May 2002 The Sound of Music
May 2002 Bouncers
Sep 2002 Once A Catholic
Jan 2003 Dick Whittington
Mar 2003 Encore
June 2003 A Chorus Line
June 2003 Educating Rita
Sept 2003 Fly Me To The Moon
Jan 2004 Return to the Forbidden Planet
Jun 2004 Honk! (with Castaway)
Sep 2004 A Day In The Death of Joe Egg
Feb 2005 Oliver!
Jun 2005 Carousel
Jul 2006 The Full Monty
Mar 2007 Hello, Dolly
Sep 2007 We Love Musicals
Nov 2007 Season's Greetings
Jan 2008 Bouncers
Mar 2008 Stepping Out
Apr 2008 Mack and Mabel in Concert
Jun 2008 Art
Sep 2008 Dad's Army
Nov 2008 Breezeblock Park
Jan 2009 The Graduate
Mar 2009 Misery
May 2009 A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum
Sep 2009 'Allo, 'Allo
Oct 2009 In Extremis
Nov 2009 Relatively Speaking