2000: Hopes and Dreams  The company was formed in 2000, to put on a one-off performance of Rob Frost's Hopes and Dreams as part of the Millennium celebrations. Our drama director was Meg Jepson and musical director was John Pearson.  Cast members were largely drawn from the churches in the Stocksbridge area - an ensemble of all ages, many of whom had previously had little or no acting or singing experience.  Our performances took place in the Victory Club (now The Venue), which had been the social centre for Stocksbridge Steelworks (and hence for the Steel Valley itself) for many years previously.

2001: A Pilgrim's Progress  We enjoyed the experience so much that we came back together the following year to perform a musical version of A Pilgrim's Progress. This time, we used a locally-written adaptation of John Bunyan's book by Marie Wood and the Sheffield Youth Theatre, together with music by John Pearson.

2002: A Christmas Carol  For our third production, we tackled Dickens' famous Christmas tale. Again, a local writer provided the script and the music was written by John Pearson.  Highlight was a 'touring performance' at the Dickensian Winter Festival in Grassington in the Yorkshire Dales.

2003: Snow White  Ian Enters joined us as drama director and co-writer (along with Sue Charlesworth and Charlotte Fearnley) for a dark and mysterious take on the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A wonderful score was provided by John Pearson, with contributions from Peter Fearnley.  Following a series of well-attended and warmly received performances at the Victory Club in Stocksbridge, we performed to our smallest audience to-date in Sheffield city centre when, in spite of a concerted last-minute leafleting campaign along Fargate to bring people in off the street, we outnumbered our audience several times over.  Nevertheless, the show went on and a good time was had by all - we think!

2004: Coming of Age  We continued our informal policy of supporting home-grown musical drama, with this story from Arthurian legend, written by Ian Enters and with music again provided by John Pearson, with contributions from Peter Fearnley.

2005: Avalon  Instead of putting on our own production,  this year we provided back-stage and front of house support for  a professional production of Ian Enters' and Michaels Babb's  outstanding opera telling the tale of Arthur, Launcelot, Guinevere  and the Knights of the Round Table.

2006: A Midsummer Night's Dream  Having recharged our batteries, we took on the enormous challenge of Shakespeare's finest comedy. This tested the acting skills of our all-age cast to the maximum, but they performed admirably.  Using contemporary music to underscore and provide a commentary on the play's key themes, SVBA won over audiences and gained critical respect for its ambitious and entertaining production.  The Victory Club was closed for refurbishment (pending its reopening as The Venue), and so performances were held in various schools (Stocksbridge High, Wisewood and The Mount in York) and churches (St Matthias, Green Moor and Stocksbridge Methodist).

2007 and 2009: Old King Coal  The versatility of the company was demonstrated by the gritty realism of its production of Peter Fearnley's musical based on the miners' strike of 1984-85. This production was reprised, by invitation, in 2009 at the South Yorkshire Festival at Wortley Hall and as part of the Homegrown Festival.  Peter has produced a web site for Old King Coal, which you can visit at: http://oldkingcoal.org/

2008: Romeo and Juliet   We revisited the plays of William Shakespeare for our production in 2008.  The main parts were taken by some of  the younger members of the ensemble, who did a marvellous job bringing the tragic story of the star-crossed lovers to life.  Part of the preparation for the performances included a series of sword fighting workshops - which resulted in some extremely exciting and realistic staged battles.  As well as taking on the roles of the senior Montagues and Capulets, the older members of the company sang in the choir and helped create the period costumes and set.

2009: The Caucasian Chalk Circle   We performed Bertholt Brecht's classic morality tale in the round at The Venue in November 2009.  A selfless servant girl, Grusha, risks everything for an infant abandoned in war, whilst his mother (the wife of the Governor) flees from civil uprising.  To save the child, Grusha must endure confrontations and inhuman treatment. Only the righteous corruption of an ordinary man surprisingly translated to judge can give her, the helpless child, and society, a chance of redemption.   Written in the 1940’s, this play still carries powerful  meaning for today, and this production introduced our  own prologue, reflecting issues relevant to our valley  today and our futures together.  The 'in the round' staging meant that all the cast were on stage throughout the performance.  So, there was no last minute cribbing of lines in between the scenes.... As if we would!