Knaphill and St Johns Operatic Group (KASJOG for short!) started life as an Adult Education evening class at The Winston Churchill School, St Johns, way back in 1968. Our first (and favourite) production was Gilbert & Sullivan’s Trial By Jury.

In 1994, after having separated from Adult Education, KASJOG became a registered charity which coincided with a decision to move to the Rhoda McGaw Theatre, a huge step-up in terms of the scope of technical and production opportunities. It was also decided that the repertoire would extend to include light opera and so a process of alternating Gilbert & Sullivan’s works  with operas such as Die Fledermaus, Orpheus in the Underworld and The Merry Widow (our first production at the Rhoda McGaw Theatre) began. In 2025 we moved our main show away from Woking to the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse in Walton-on-Thames. We now have two shows a year, the second being a Summer Variety Show, first held in 2024, and another is planned for 30/31st May 2025.

KASJOG’s mantra is to entertain in as professional a manner as possible, but to have fun at the same time. Each show brings its own possibilities and challenges and there is no shortage of anecdotes about missed entrances, forgotten lines, misplaced props, un-cooperative scenery and high jinks in the lighting box! However, the cast and crew are always ready to accept a challenge, the biggest of which has been our production of Carmen and for which we won a coveted NODA Award of Excellence. Another challenging production was our first musical, Brigadoon, which required Scottish and American accents, a sword dance and 11 scene changes in two acts.