THE stage was set for a good time last Friday, when members of The Tavonians Theatre Company enjoyed a party at The Guide Hall in Canal Road to celebrate their 75th anniversary.

The company was formed in 1935 when George Smith and a handful of players started to give one-act plays in the town. Their first production was A Monkey's Paw.

Over the last 75 years the amateur dramatic group has put on an impressive 148 productions, involving a huge number of people, some of whom have gone on to work professionally in theatre, others who have simply enjoyed their association with amateur drama.

A long series of drama festival performances began with a production of 'The Bishop's Candlesticks' for which the company was awarded a first class certificate.

In 1949, the producer chose to present 'The Anniversary', a play by Russian playwright Anton Chekov, which took the Tavonians forward to the festival divisional final at the Globe Theatre, Plymouth, where they failed by the smallest margin to go on to the British Drama League finals in Birmingham.

The Tavonians were the first amateur society in the country to present J B Priestley's play, 'The Linden Tree' in 1949.

Another first was the production of 'The Roses of Eyam' in 1975, when the producer, Rosemary Mann, persuaded the author of the television version, Don Taylor, to allow his script to be adapted and performed by the Tavonians.

In 1960 the Tavonians celebrated 25 years of continuous activity, except for a break during the war years, with the silver jubilee production of 'Rebecca' by Daphne du Maurier.

Their golden jubilee year in 1985 was marked by presentation of the highly successful 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' at The Drum in Plymouth's Theatre Royal.

Until The Wharf opened in 1995, the Tavonians performed most productions in Tavistock Town Hall — an amazing achievement, considering the limited stage facilities.

Over the years, there have been occasional tours of travelling shows on stages as diverse as Calstock, Lewdown, Postbridge and Fowey.

In 1960, rehearsals were taking place in a large room at the rear of 77 West Street and scenery was stored at Abbey Mead.

Later, the vacant Abbey Garage building was used, until it was demolished to make way for Godolphin House.

Public requests for permanent storage space have been made quite frequently in recent years, — to no avail —yet!

Many people who have taken part in Tavonians' productions have gone on to train for professional careers in the performing arts, or to teach them to others.

These include Scott Allen, Lynn Perry, David Lean, Sarah Cunliffe, Mark Starr, Ronald Wotten, Jenny Killingbeck, Justine Heggs, Andrew Jackman, Naomi Wheddon and Jeremy Barnaby — also Zahra Ahmadi (Eastenders) and Craig Gazey (Coronation Street and winner of 2009 Bafta Award for best newcomer).

The Tavonians have also benefited from the involvement of some professional actors in their productions, including Jenny Killingbeck, Sarah Denne, Steph Reese, Tracy Harding, Nick Lewis and Matt Keast.

Ali Fife, the current chair of The Tavonians, told the Times: 'It's great to be a part of such an amazing history.

'Several hundreds of people will have been involved with The Tavonians over the 75 years, not just those on stage but all those behind the scenes as well.

'For many the experience will have been life-changing — some people have boosted their self-confidence, there have been marriages and friendships formed, and for some their involvement has spurred them on to a successful career in the theatre or television.

'I'd like to offer my personal congratulations to all those who've been involved over the years and contributed to our anniversary achievement, including the audiences without whom we couldn't have reached this milestone.

'No celebration of this sort can go by without mention of Philip Perry, who was a stalwart member of The Tavonians for almost 50 years, having joined for the 1949 production of The Linden Tree.

'He later became the company's president.

'Being only a comparatively new member of five years I only met Philip once, when he recited his favourite monologue about baler twine. It was spellbinding.

'Philip died in 1996 but he made such an impact, in his gentle way, that he will still be remembered when the 100th anniversary comes around.'

If you would like to become a member of the Tavonians, see their website http://www.tavonians.org.uk">www.tavonians.org.uk

l As part of The Tavonians 75th anniversary celebrations there was an exhibition in the Tavistock Museum in the summer, including a huge range of programmes, posters, props, costumes, photographs and other artefacts.

As part of the exhibition there was a children's quiz and the winners will receive book tokens. For those aged up to ten the winner was Izak Lee from Plymouth; for the eleven to 16 year-olds, the winner was Bradley Fedarb from Littlehampton.

Information on the history of the Tavonians supplied by Elizabeth Cole and Alison Wright.