Sudbury Dramatic Society was constituted in 1921 and mounted its first production, ‘Brer Rabbit and Mr Fox,’ in the Victoria Hall located in the town’s Princes Street. The most expensive seats were priced at 3/6d - 17½p in today's money.
The Victoria Hall remained the home of SDS for many years. During the 20s and 30s all profits were donated to St Leonard's Hospital for the building of the Sunshine Ward, and this was commemorated by a plaque now held in the Quay Theatre building.
Search for a new home
SDS started to look seriously for a permanent base around the mid 1970s; the Quay building was viewed in 1977 and bought for £15,000 in 1979 with ‘Toad of Toad Hall’ becoming SDS’s first production in its new home.
Much of the renovation work was carried out entirely by SDS members with specific tasks undertaken by professional builders and other contractors.
Performing at the Quay
For two or three years audiences gradually grew despite the cold and discomfort (more than one show was watched by audiences in coats, hats and scarves) and the lack of proper seating or toilet facilities, but by 1980 the Society embarked on the major fund raising drive which led to the opening in 1981 of the Quay as we know it today.
The Quay was wholly owned by SDS until the late 1980s, but in 1987 the ‘Quay At Sudbury’ charity was set up to take legal ownership of the building, thus freeing SDS from the administrative work of running a theatre and enabling it to concentrate on mounting productions.
In 1996 the process was carried a stage further when the Quay constitution was revamped to separate itself completely from the societies and to become a self-governing body under the Charity Commission.
As in its earlier days, the theatre still operates using a large volunteer work force supporting the small number of paid staff.
SDS today
SDS remains an important part of the Quay Theatre and remains a major contributor to the Quay's finances, particularly with the annual pantomime, although due to a changing relationship with the theatre the society is performing certain productions in other venues with the first one being in July 2026.
The Society puts on six productions per year including the pantomime which runs for around 20+ performances around Christmas, with the remaining five productions usually comprising a mix of plays covering a wide range of dramatic genres.
A busy dramatic society
There’s always a production in progress whether in rehearsal or performance.
Casting for productions is always by open audition held between four and six months in advance of the performance run. Dates are published on the website and around the theatre, and also in the Society's digital newsletter.
The season's programme is fixed a year in advance by the Play Co-ordinating Committee, to which anyone may submit plays or pantomimes (preferably ones they would wish to direct themselves!).
There have been many highlights in SDS’s long history of creating top class theatre for the locality, and we've produced award winning drama and undertaken various ambitious initiatives such as taking productions to other venues both indoor and outdoor (even abroad!) with several milestones reached including our centenary in 2021 for which a book charting the history of SDS - Sudbury Dramatic Society: The First 100 Years - has been produced.
Why not get involved?
