BATS celebrates its 70th birthday
This March, BATS celebrates its 70th birthday and we are going to be regaling you with some stories, memories and batty facts going back to the mid-50s. Both here on the website, and also on our social media. We’ll also be having a celebratory walk down that memory lane at a special show in June.
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If you’ve got any memories to share, let us know!
Our History
So how did it all begin?
B.A.T.S. – the British American Theatrical Society – officially first off on 4 March 1956, when eight theatre fans split away from the French-speaking ensemble Laetitia, which staged plays in the Cercle Royal Artistique in Antwerp, later to be renamed the Arenbergschouwburg.
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.”The first statutes set out the aim of the group: “the encouragement of amateur dramatics in the English language in Antwerp
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The group was led by its first chairman, Vic Hewitt, who had been posted to Antwerp by Lloyds Bank. Outside working hours Hewitt put all his remaining energy into writing, producing theatre decors and to turning the small band of founding members into a club. In order to raise the necessary funds, members would 'tour' the local bars and cafes delighting mainly Flemish audiences with impromptu sketches and singing – and always passing round the hat to make the most of the positive reception they
got.
March 1956 – the eight founding members:
Marcel Bosschaerts
Betty Bosschaerts
Marcel Clement
Vic Hewitt
Norie Humphries
Ron Humphries
Georgette Mélo
Jo Royen
These donations – and sponsorship from General Motors – meant that within seven weeks of BATS being formed, they were in the position to put on their first play, Murder Without Crime by J. Lee Thomson, was performed on 28th April 1956. It was apparently staged in the auditorium of the, now defunct, General Motors building on the Noorderlaan.
View a review of another production performed in 1957, The Paragon, as published in the Gazet van Antwerpen in 1957.
Our original BATS logo, used from 1956 til 1975
BATS members anno 1957
One of the first reviews in the Gazet Van Antwerpen from 1957
Today
Over the years, BATS has maintained a tradition of staging some four shows per season. More recently it has also staged variety shows, and hosted other companies’ productions in its clubhouse (at least when we had one). The club also organises Open Evenings, not only for club members, but also for other people interested in learning more about BATS, or just having a chat in English.
In this way the club has become much more than just an activity for expatriates. While English remains our club language, today’s membership is made up not only of expatriates, but also by locals and other nationalities, whatever their mother tongue.
Since 1976, BATS has also played a major role in the organisation of FEATS, an annual festival dedicated to English-speaking theatre from all over mainland Europe.