ASMS founder members Norman Luke & Paul Toward

Alnwick’s, Award Winning,
Stage Musical Society

Alnwick Stage Musical Society formed in October 1986. It was the brainchild of two friends Norman Luke and Paul Toward, who produced and musically directed the Society’s first show, The Sound of Music, in March 1987.

Over the years, the company has performed many classic musicals including Me & My Girl, The Pirates of Penzance, Kiss Me Kate, HMS Pinafore, Fiddler On The Roof, Annie Get Your Gun and many more.

In 2016 ASMS became an award winning society for the first time when Leonie Airlie won a best lead NODA award for her role as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act. Since then we have gone from strength to strength. In 2017 Darren Lewis (who is playing Jesus in our 2020 show) was awarded best lead for his role as Che in Evita, Juliette Bell was also nominated for this award for her role as Eva Peron. The show itself, directed by Norman Luke, was awarded best show in the North Region.

The following year saw ASMS gain five NODA awards for its production of My Fair Lady (must be some kind of record!). We bagged best lead, with Leonie Airlie as Eliza Doolittle, best show in the North Region, directed by Kathryn Curry. Mark Stenton (playing Judas in 2020) won the prestigious NODA North Regional Councillors Award for best performance in the North Region for his portrayal of Alfred Doolittle. And for the first time, we entered our programme into the NODA design competition and scooped up the regional and national award for best design.

Last year, not wanting to take a year out due to the Playhouse restoration, ASMS embarked on an ambitious show – Cabaret On Broadway directed by Leonie Airlie, Kellie Hughes and Lynne Lambert. This was a cabaret-style show that shone the spotlight on many of our long standing cast members – we were blown away to find out that we won best concert in the North.