The founder of a Falmouth theatre group for young people has been given a lifetime achievement award for outstanding contribution to the theatre.
Sally Robinson, who founded Young Generation along with her husband Tony in 1981, was awarded the Freddie Rowe award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre at last weekend’s Theatre Festival Awards hosted by the Cornwall Drama Association.
There was also an award made to the Young Generation - the Sally Robinson Award for an Outstanding Musical Performance in a musical production, for the live instrumental performance in the group’s production of School of Rock.
She said: “Singing has been one of my greatest joys, and I’m happy to still be able to sing in our local church choir. Encouraging others to experience the benefits of singing – combined with dramatic performance – has been a very worthwhile motivation in my life.”
The Cornwall Drama Association (CDA) has been going since 1949. Sally joined in 1988 and wrote a history of its activities up to 2016 at which time she retired from the CDA committee and from full-time adjudicating.
She had been chair, vice chair, secretary and adjudications co-ordinator.
This year adjudicators from CDA visited 50 productions up and down Cornwall and produced reports on each play/show.
230 people attended the Awards Ceremony in the Atlantic Hotel in Newquay. Details of all the winners in the festival can be found at cornwalldrama.co.uk/cornwall-drama-association-theatre-festival-2022-2023-award-winners/.
Sally’s first introduction to musical theatre was in the late 1970’s when she was persuaded to join Falmouth Operatic Society as piano accompanist after arriving in Cornwall in 1969.
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She founded Young Generation, a musical theatre group for youngsters aged 10 – 20, with her husband Tony and some friends from Falmouth in 1981 The first Young Generation production on stage at the Poly was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in 1982. In 2015, after having been involved in 37 productions with the Young Generation as musical director, director, secretary and chairman, and with Tony the long-time treasurer, they retired from operations, but we remain trustees of the YG.
In 2022 the YG celebrated its 40th anniversary. A further production is in hand for 2024.
In 2016 Sally was awarded the B.E.M. (British Empire Medal) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours “For Services to Community Arts”.
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