Grandfather Ted Webster first took to the stage at the tender age of five to win a chocolate bar.
More than seven decades later the sprightly Leeds octogenarian still loves nothing better than treading the boards in the spotlight.
But now he fears he will have to stop this year because he can’t get the right insurance to take to the stage.
Ted, 80, who lives in West Park with his wife Ann, will sing alongside the chorus of Leeds Amateur Operatic Society at The Grand Theatre in their latest production The Sound of Music.
Over the last seven decades Ted has performed in over 45 different musicals and has even taken up karate to ensure he stays in tip-top condition.
The grandfather of seven, who is the Society’s oldest member, said: “I just love singing. I’m being forced to stop this year because after 80 you can’t get insurance but I will look around for some local singing groups.
“There’s nothing quite like performing at The Grand Theatre or West Yorkshire Playhouse. That buzz you get at the end of the show is incredible.”
Ted first sang as a five-year-old at Redcar in the Sunshine Corner to win a bar of chocolate.
He was evacuated from West Yorkshire at the age of six to Rossington, near Doncaster, and a year later he starred in a play to celebrate the railways.
Over the years he has played with his skiffle band at nursing homes across the region and he joined the Amateurs in 1975.
He will star alongside Mia Speight, seven, who is one of the group’ s youngest members in the Sound of Music which runs until Saturday.
FACTFILE
Leeds Amateur Operatic Society was founded in 1890.
The group’s first production was of HMS Pinafore at the Coliseum in Cookridge Street, Leeds.
In 1893 the Society then moved from The Fenton Hotel to its current home at the historic Leeds Grand Theatre.
To celebrate their centenary year, the Society went back to its roots and produced ‘100 Musical Years’ at the Civic Theatre in 1989.
Current president John Fairfoot has been a member for over 40 years and joined at the age of 19 distributing programmes.
The Society performs at least two shows a year at Leeds Grand Theatre and West Yorkshire Playhouse.
Comments