About us

Civic Theatre, Darlington

History

The Society has performed twice a year since 1958 at the Darlington Civic Theatre. After helping to save the theatre from closure, DarlingtonOS bought and then sold the theatre to Darlington Borough Council.

The Society is run by a committee of twelve who are responsible for the selection of shows, appointment of the production team, casting of each show, control of the show budgets as well as fulfilling our charitable duties and supporting local charities with annual financial giving.

We have an army of helpers who help behind the scenes in order for our productions to be as professional as possible.

We always welcome new members who are over 16 years of age and have bags of enthusiasm and talent. For further information view our Join Us page.

Charities

DarlingtonOS give pleasure to thousands every year by presenting first class musicals at the Civic Theatre in Darlington, and the pleasure we give with our productions on stage is matched by the pleasure we give to local charities with donations averaging £10,500 every year.

As a registered charity we aim to give pleasure to people by presenting a mix of fun, thought provoking and, sometimes, outrageous musicals while at the same time raising much needed funds for local charities both large and small.

Charities that have recently benefited from donations by DarlingtonOS include Darlington Samaritans, Darlington Hospital Rado, Darlington & District Talking Newspaper, Guide Dogs for the Blind and the Great North Air Ambulance as well as their main benefactor St. Teresa’s Hospice on Woodland Road.

If you are involved in a local Charity and would like to be considered for a donation please contact us here.

Rehearsal info

Our usual rehearsal night is Thursday from 7.30 to 9.30pm at Cockerton Primary School, Darlington. 8 weeks of singing rehearsals (one night a week) is followed by ‘floor rehearsals’ with our professional Directors – these are an intense period of two 2 week sections where members will be required most nights to ‘block set’ each act of a show. Out Assistant Director then takes over where attendance is less intense (depending on what role within the show you are taking). There are usually some Sunday rehearsals when the Director is blocking the show.

Complete rehearsal schedules are always available in plenty of time to ensure you are available for the entire rehearsal period, we always do our best to work around people’s work and holiday commitments.

Performance venue

We perform at the beautiful 900 seater Darlington Civic Theatre. Our shows run for ten nights (often with a Saturday matinee on the first weekend). Opening night is a Wednesday and we close a week the following Saturday with a break on the middle Sunday.

Contact details