The launch of the production, Rumors, was the perfect way to mark the milestone, which saw dozens converge on CH on Peel.

The play is set in 1990. The deputy mayor of New York has been shot under mysterious circumstances at his home, just moments before his 10th anniversary dinner with friends.

You can imagine the mayhem as the first on the scene is his best friend and lawyer who tries to keep the incident from the rest of the guests whilst preventing a media storm.

“I was attracted to the lunacy and sheer lightning-fast pace of Neil Simon’s script,” director Ben Mettam said.

“We are having an absolute blast with the sheer energy and physical humour of this play, and can’t wait to get in front of an audience.”

The show, Rumors, opens at the Capitol Theatre in August, but the group had reason to celebrate on Monday as it marked its 70^th birthday at CH on Peel. 

“Over 70 years TDS has performed a huge variety of styles and we haven’t shied away from difficult content,” TDS president Daniel Gillett said.

“We’ve always had a focus on Australian plays, and this year we were lucky to bring a Tamworth play to the stage.

“We are about pushing boundaries, and tackling serious issues, but we haven’t forgotten how to have fun which is why Neil Simon’s Rumors is a great way to celebrate our 70 years.”

It’s a credit to the TDS and its volunteers that the society is still going strong after 70 years, considering it has not had a home, of dedicated rehearsal space of its own for the past 13 years.

TDS called the Retreat Theatre home until 2004 when the building was condemned. Since then, an old scout hall, a former egg factory and the showground pavilion have been temporary rehearsal spaces.

Rehearsals for Rumors are well under way thanks at Tamworth High School.

“It’s for this reason we are very excited by council’s proposal for a new cultural precinct including a more intimate theatre space, which would be more suited to our productions” Mr Gillett said.

TDS volunteers are proud of the quality productions they’ve been able to bring to the stage since 1947, from Shakespeare’s A Mid-Summer Nights Dream to the acclaimed Mousetrap and the hilarious Allo Allo.

At the Capitol Theatre 2017 season launch last year, TDS offered three productions. In March, the confronting locally-written play highlighting mental illness, Geoffrey, written by Peter Langston. In August, Rumors, by Neil Simon, and in November, I am my own wife, by playwright Doug Wright.

Rumors opens at the Capitol Theatre on August 18.