RoCo is an amateur dramatics society held at St Andrew’s Roundhay United Reformed Church in Leeds.
The drama group was formed in 1963 when St Andrew's was previously known as Roundhay Congregational Church, hence the name 'RoCo'. In 2023 we celebrated our 60th anniversary.
The Play's The Thing...
We like to stage a wide variety of plays, from comedies to classics, mysteries to musicals. Most are scripts and writers which you may recognise, such as 'The Importance Of Being Earnest' by Oscar Wilde, and 'An Inspector Calls' by J. B. Priestley. Occasionally we also stage original plays written by our members.
We usually aim to stage plays in March and November, performed over three nights. We also stage a Murder Mystery during the year too which is typically performed over two nights. In recent years we have also included a matinee performance.
Our rehearsals take place on Monday and Thursday evenings, starting from 7:30pm. Rehearsal periods for each production lasts for around three months (approx).
Junior RoCo
Our Junior RoCo team is available for younger participants between the ages of 8-16 who would like to get involved with some amateur dramatics. Junior RoCo provides training in various stage techniques, helping to develop confidence in general drama skills through performance-based activities.
Further info on Junior RoCo can be found here
Further Activities
We look to arrange workshop and social activities throughout the year when possible, to give both regulars and newcomers the opportunity to stay active and involved. Some of these are even lead by industry professionals.
We also look to encourage our members to visit and support other drama groups (both amateur and professional) across the region when we can.
We hold an Annual General Meeting, usually in June, which members are encouraged to attend.
St Andrew's Roundhay
RoCo Dramatic Society was born in 1963 as the long-held dream of Dorothy Tillison, wife of Rev Geoffrey Tillison who was minister of the church at the time. Since then, with only a few exceptions, RoCo has continued to stage productions every year.
Although RoCo is officially a St Andrew's group, participants do not have to be members or worshipers of the church to be involved. We support the church and it's work in the community, and our members sometimes assist with drama related projects and performances.
St Andrew's is an open and accepting community of people from a wide range of backgrounds, and provide a variety of social activities and friendship for all ages beyond the usual church worship and services. For more information on the St Andrew's, please do visit their website.
Friends Of RoCo Membership
We have an annual membership titled 'Friends Of RoCo', lasting from January 1st to December 31st of each year. Anyone can become a Friends of RoCo member, whether you wish to be directly involved with RoCo productions or just support us.
You do not have to be a Friends of RoCo member to join our mailing list or to come to our shows, events and activities throughout the year - although there will be a few activities exclusive to the membership.
You will have to join the membership however, if you want to take part in any of our productions, whether as a member of the cast or crew.
Further info on the Friends Of RoCo membership can be found here
Get Involved!
We love to welcome new members both on stage and behind the scenes, across a variety of production roles.
If you are interested in treading the boards, volunteering for our stage crew team, helping with tech, make-up, wardrobe, prompting, stage management or even producing a play, we'd love to meet you!
To find out more or if you'd like to be added to our mailing list, please do get in touch!