CX wins in recent NODA awards

Sunday, July 12th, 2026

There was great excitement at the NODA London Region Annual Celebration Day last month, when Marilyn Leadbetter masqueraded as Chris Bertrand to accept The Charles Sumner Award for Best Male Character in a Play,

For those not familiar with the structure, the National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) operates as local branches, known as Districts, which are part of a Region. We are in District 12 (Oxfordshire) of the London Region.

Chris won the District award for Best Male Character in a Play, for his portrayal of André in The Father, which meant he was nominated for the Regional award. Whilst we have had several District wins over the time we have been NODA members, this is the first time an SP has got over the line to win the Regional award. Huge congratulations to Chris, we are all very proud of you!

We had 2 other District wins, with Hansel and Gretel taking Best Panto, and Rebecca Cleverley for Best Female Character in a Play, again for The Father.

It was a huge honour for the whole society to bring home the District 12 NODA Flame Award for the second time. The award is now on display in the cabinet above the book case in the foyer. The award was given for “the breadth and depth of our programming” in 2025.  Congratulations go to the Artistic Team for their choices and to the directors and their teams who brought the individual productions to life so successfully. Hopefully, the certificate with the full citation will be on display somewhere soon. Thanks also to Andrew Walter, our NODA rep, for the nominations and for his diligent support for all our productions.