A Coronation Celebration

This was a celebration ‘Fit for a King’. There was confident singing throughout with harmonies that were a delight to hear. The celebration was well thought out and focussed on everything British through song, comedy and also encompassed the Commonwealth.

The chorus medleys were well constructed and powerfully delivered and the rendition of ‘Look at the World’ to end the concert was a delight.

Practically Perfect (Charlotte Chambers), Have You Met Miss Jones (Andy Nicholls), You’ll Be Back (Darrell Burns) and Heart of Stone (Ellen Nicholls) were not just beautifully sung, they were performed and really engaged the audience. The duet, Unexpected Song, by Alison Gough and Sammi Thomas demonstrated how well their voices blended. This was also true of the trios, When Will I See you Again (Flo Chambers, Ruth Burns and Tracey Hackett) and I Could Have Danced All Night (Emily Chambers, Hannah Quirk and Sammi Thomas). There were two enthusiastic renderings from My Fair Lady involving Kevin Fearn, Paul Woodhead and Ian Cooper in With a Little Bit of Luck and Geoff Rowlands, Ryan Spencer and Andy Nicholls in Get Me to the Church on Time. I also enjoyed the Ladies singing ‘Sweet Dreams’, the ensemble in ‘The Long and Winding Road’ and the powerfully sung ‘Once We Were Kings’ from the men’s chorus.

It was a pleasure to see so many children taking part and enjoying themselves. It always gives me hope for the future of musical theatre when I see and hear such talent. Well done for your contribution.

Leo Wright reminded us of the importance of William Shakespeare to the English language in an amusing sketch based on sayings of Shakespeare’s that are still used today whilst Geoff Tunnicliffe took us back to one of the inspirational speeches made by Winston Churchill some 80 years ago.

There was comedy throughout the evening provided by the talented Sarah Mitchell as she interviewed several monarchs from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria. These were played by different members of the cast and used situations and idiosyncrasies relating to these monarchs to create some very amusing sketches so well done to the writers and performers of those.

The large orchestra, under the direction of John Nicholls, provided a good sound which was a sympathetic accompaniment to the singers. I never struggled to hear the singing from soloists, ensembles or chorus. The sound and lighting plots both enhanced the evening’s performance.

Well done to everyone involved and thank you for reminding us of how lucky we are!      

 

 

 

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