Pastiche formed with it’s very first production in January 1997 when Jean Hobson and Jean George decided to create a one off production of Sandy Wilson’s “The Boy Friend” with the proceeds going to the British Heart Foundation, beginning a tradition of donating proceeds from our performances to local and national charities and organisations which is still proudly upheld by the company to this very day.
“We said we’d do the show for charity, but couldn’t find a suitable hall. Eventually we found The Compass, which we love” (Jean Hobson, 1999)
“The Boy Friend” was Pastiche’s first performance and opened at The Compass Theatre in Ickenham on Tuesday 21st January 1997. This performance was the start of a relationship with The Compass which is now twenty five years old and has led to the company staging over 175 individual performances at the theatre. We staged our 45th production on the Compass stage in July 2019. A pretty remarkable achievement!
The success of “The Boy Friend” encouraged the company to stage another production, which it did with “Salad Days” in 1998. We staged our first concert “Showstoppers” in the summer of 1998 and ever since, we have staged a full musical and a concert each year.
In the first twenty five years of our existence, Pastiche raised an incredible £59,000 for over thirty different organisations and charities based locally and nationally – supporting causes from Alzheimer’s to Great Ormond Street. We choose the organisations we raise funds for as a group and in most cases, the organisations are close to one or several of our member’s hearts.
Pastiche prides itself on being a friendly group with a strong sense of fun and support for each other. Some of our membership have been with the company since day one and we have not only families with two generations involved we have even had three generations of one family as part of the group! Several of our members joined when they were children and have grown up with the company. Former members of the company have gone on to work professionally in the Theatre and we couldn’t be prouder that we have played a small part in their journey to where they are today.
As with the rest of the world, Pastiche had to stop doing what they love when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Although we weren’t able to do things in person, the company stayed together during these incredibly difficult times with virtual meet ups and maintaining our sense of support for each other by checking in with others and helping those who were in isolation at various points. We were thrilled to be able to reconvene in the autumn of 2021 and are back, stronger and more fabulous than ever!
After celebrating our 25th birthday in 2022 with our production of ‘Musical Memory Lane’, the company are looking forward to future decades raising funds for worthy causes.
Pastiche is affiliated to the Hillingdon Arts Association.