WHY travel to London to see a top class musical when you can see one in Cardonald? 

Lourdes Theatre Group recently put on a four night sell out production of ‘The Sound of Music’ in Lourdes Secondary School. 

Local man Matt Lynch, Ibrox, said: “This was every bit as good as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s production at the London Palladium.”

The group has been working hard on the production since March this year. There are over fifty adults and children in the cast, and a professional orchestra of eighteen musicians supports the production.

Production manager Eileen McCallum said: “The group was formed just three years ago, but has a growing reputation for producing work of excellent quality. It consists of children and adults, who get the opportunity to take part in classic shows.” 

The musical presents a history of the von Trapp family, albeit one that is not completely accurate: Georg Ludwig von Trapp, who was in fact anti-Nazi, lived with his family in a villa in a district of Salzburg, called Aigen.  While the von Trapp family hikes over the Alps to Switzerland, in reality they walked to the local train station and boarded the next train to Italy, from which they fled to London and ultimately the United States. 

Yearly performances cost LTG more han £12,000, and the group work hard in fundraising activities. 

The amateur performers are trained by drama teachers within the group, and everyone gives their time for free.Lourdes Theatre Group is affiliated to Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Cardonald, and was founded in 2006 by Des McLean.

They first staged the classic musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’, followed in 2007 by ‘Oliver’ and more recently ‘Annie’. They are based in St Bernadette's Hall, Lourdes Avenue, Cardonald.

They currently have members from all over Glasgow and stipulate ‘membership of LTG is not restricted to parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, but is open to anyone’.  

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favourite things.

Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels,
doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
these are a few of my favourite things.

Girls in a white dresses with a blue satin sashes,
snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
silver white winters that melt into springs,
these are a few of my favourite things.

When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favourite things,
and then I don't feel so bad.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings,
these are a few of my favourite things.

Cream coloured ponies and crisp apple strudels,
doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.
these are a few of my favourite things.

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes,
snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes,
silver white winters that melt into springs,
these are a few of my favourite things.

When the dog bites, when the bee stings,
when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favourite things,
and then I don't feel so bad.