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How it all began The Hoghton Players G & S Society is the only G & S society in Southport, Formby and West Lancs. It was formed in 1952 as a church society based at the old Baptist Church down Hoghton Street, Southport. The aim was to produce some sort of outlet for the young people in the church to enable them to discover more about their skills and talents, whether it be singing, drama, dancing, scene painting, costume design etc. Over 50 years on, a handful of the original members are still involved to a greater or lesser extent in the Society. In 1961, the Hoghton Players transferred their annual productions to the Little Theatre (home of Southport Dramatic Club) also down Hoghton Street - where they remained until 1984. The following year 1985, saw the Society's first ever production at the Arts Centre, Lord Street, and they have remained there ever since. Although limited to a rather narrow genre, the Hoghton Players has always striven to break new ground - much in the same way as the original team of W S Gilbert & Sir Arthur Sullivan. As well as performing the most popular operas in the Savoy repertoire, the Hoghton has also performed some of the lesser known operas eg "Princess Ida" (1990 and 1999), "Utopia Ltd" (renamed "Utopia plc" in 1993) and a semi-staged version of "Cox and Box" in 1995.