Cody Musical Theatre Company held a centenary tea party in Farnborough on June 11 which attracted a huge gathering of past and present participants.

The company was formed as the Royal Aircraft Establishment Operatic Society in 1920 but Covid delayed the celebration for two years.

Publicity manager Giga Phillips said: “The band played, the bubbly flowed and we had a great time seeing old faces that had performed over the past 50 years or so.”

The company’s first production was The Golden Amulet in February 1921 and the first show at which photographs were taken was The Rebel Maid in 1929.

Performances continued throughout the Second World War and Shrek was the centenary show in 2021. It staged The Addams Family in March and Kinky Boots is scheduled for September.

Mrs Phillips, who joined in 1985 as a chorus member for Orpheus In The Underworld, added: “We no longer are exclusive to now QinetiQ employees, but welcome any enthusiastic dramatist who can sing and dance on stage or help behind the scenes.

“We still have a stage hut on the QinetiQ site, but decided on a name change for the society once QinetiQ took over and settled on Cody as he is so well remembered with the beginnings of the Royal Aircraft Establishment.”

Mrs Phillips’ enthusiasm for musical theatre has spread to the rest of her family.

She said: “My daughter Sophie, then aged 15, joined me on stage for High Society in 1993, playing my stage daughter Dinah Lord. She now has her own family and has been on stage and as a director for Grayshott Panto for a number of years, with her daughter Halina on stage.

“My son James joined me on stage in Hello Dolly! in 1994 and Jesus Christ Superstar in 1995. He went on to do theatre productions when studying at Oxford and Cambridge universities. And in 1998 my husband Robert was cajoled into wearing tights and strutting in front of his adoring ladies’ chorus as a toreador in Carmen.

“Many other families have shared their am-dram passion throughout the generations and several marriages are because people met doing their favourite hobby. Cheers to the next 100 years!”

For more information visit https://codymusical.co.uk/