The Langholm Amateur Dramatic Society (‘LADS’), later the Langholm Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society (‘LAODS), appears to have been active from around 1883, with early productions including:

• Rob Roy Macgregor, otherwise known as Auld Lang Syne, by Isaac Pocock.
• Ernest Maltravers, based on an 1837 novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, known for his phrases such as ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ and ‘It was a dark and stormy night‘.
• Box and Cox, a farce by John Maddison Morton.

However, its shows were sporadic until the organisation’s heydays from the mid-1900s. During the war, larger drama productions were provided by visiting theatre companies, with smaller-scale performances usually being put on as local fundraisers. See Theatre for the main visiting productions in 1915.

There was also a large Wild West extravaganza in a 10,000-seat tent (see 8th June 1915 in the Diary).

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