AFTER almost a year of constant fund-raising to put on a show in their own Town Hall Clydebank Musical Society (CMS) is celebrating after discovering their fee to do just that has been waived.

Members of the group, which has been at the heart of the community for 40 years, took part in a sponsored walk and put on a glittering Strictly Come Dancing fundraising event earlier this year to raise money to put on their production of High School Musical.

Children and their parents, carers, and guardians have raised an incredible £5,000 so far, but that only makes a dent in the £15,000 fee that they need to bring their show to the stage in October.

However, this all changed at the start of September after a meeting with Provost Douglas McAllister and Councillor Clare Steel.

Elaine Haddock, a member of CMS, said: “We pled our case and told them [Provost McAllister and Cllr Steel] that our last show cost just as much - but we were only allowed to have half capacity because of Covid.

“Other theatres like the Kings in Glasgow were at full capacity, and we were only allowed half, and we didn’t get a discount or anything, we still had to pay.

“These sorts of charges put clubs like ours completely out of business. We’re not a profit-making commercial business, we’re a charity, so it was a huge cost.

"Prices have just sky-rocketed, but they’ve sky-rocketed for everything. Our sound and lighting engineering, our stage delivery, everything has gone up - that’s why we’ve been fund-raising like crazy.

“Provost McAllister and Councillor Steel said they would see what they could do and when we tuned into the meeting on Wednesday (August 31) and we heard Clare saying ‘we want all fees waivered’ I nearly fainted.

“We listened to the whole meeting to hear what was happening at the end because it was an emergency motion and I’ll be honest I expected a bit of negotiation but when it came to it they all agreed, it was unanimous.

“I could not believe it, I actually could not believe it.”

After spending much of their summer working hard to make sure the show could go ahead, members of CMS’s junior section were beyond thrilled at hearing this news.

The youngsters have been praised for their dedication to keeping the show in Clydebank rather than going elsewhere - something Elaine explained is very important to the club.

"This means we can survive," she said. "It’s so important. We were worried - we just thought after being the heart of the community for 40 years we’re just not going to be able to do this.

“To actually go somewhere else, to go to Partick Burgh Hall or to go into Glasgow into one of the smaller theatres, it takes away from the whole ethos that we are Clydebank Musical Society, and that also means that the people of Clydebank maybe can’t afford to come.

“It’s more than just a wee singing and dancing group. It means so much more than that. I can’t even begin to describe it, I’ve been walking around in a dream, we were not expecting that.

“Clare and Douglas actually pointed out to us, you know we did our sponsored walk and the Strictly fundraiser, that the kids gave up their summer to do this, to practise these dances and they don’t get anything out of it, it’s their time and their willingness to do it and they’ve raised just under £5,000.

“Clare said to us ‘so the children are fundraising to star in their own show in their own town hall?’ and when she said that I could’ve cried.

"Instead of tears of sadness now it’s tears of joy and happiness, it’s saved us £15,000.”

Councillor Clare Steel told the Post that charges associated with upcoming shows at Clydebank Town Hall in October and November 2022 have been waived on a one-off basis.

Cllr Steel said: “The motion came about when CMS contacted myself and Provost McAllister for a meeting to discuss how difficult they are finding planning their Juniors show with the costs of the Town Hall. 

“Mummers theatre group also had been in touch to discuss how they were struggling with costs too in the Town Hall. 

“We listened to Elaine, Rosemary, Andy and Carla tell us their worries, struggles and financial difficulties. 

“We felt that these groups that have been part of our local community for years, especially with CMS reaching their 40 years in 2021, just shows how much they are part of the heartbeat of our Town Hall having always performed their shows there. 

“As the motion states, both groups are local, charitable organisations that have both suffered significant financial losses during Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Both groups are making their own efforts to fund-raise to meet all costs associated with putting on their shows. 

“So, in recognition of these difficulties and current cost of living crisis affecting all of our residents, I asked council to agree to waive all Clydebank Town Hall charges associated with their upcoming shows in October and November 2022 on a one-off basis.”