Bert Norman produced scenery for almost all of the Drama Society’s productions from the 1930s until the late 1960s. He was a master scene design and talented painter praised for his combination of realism and practicality.

Bert never wrote a plan for his sets, instead he had a gift for being able to visualise them in his mind. There was great variety in his designs, from the cosy country house in ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’, to the exuberant wings and backcloths for ‘Alice or the Dream’. These effects are all the more remarkable in that the scenes had to be painted on stage immediately before dress rehearsals.

In 1957, Bert was joined by Alec Riddett for the first time. They worked alongside one another for the rest of Bert’s life. Together they redecorated the Conservative Hall and created sets one reporter described as, “the best amateur play sets I have ever seen.”