Autumn Showcase 2025

Very few times in a life we come across a group of people who make such a huge difference to their local community and this group is one such example, after facing a difficult situation with their theatre closing this year. Billingham Performers Youth Theatre were really put against it; finding a new home for their performances, the prospect of not being able to stay open due to financial constraints and the sad news of the Billingham Players folding. The creative team and staff have shown once again that with theatre comes community and this was clear to see in both of their sell-out performances.

 

The creative team worked very hard on this production, taking the songs, dances and scenes the children asked to do and creating the programme around the material they were interested in. 

Tara Conway was the Choreographer for this production and was able to create energetic, fun and accessible levels of choreography for a wide range of experience levels. From more complex dances for the senior group to a more manageable level for those who are earlier in their performance journey.

Jane Passman was the Vocal Coach for this production and with a range of styles, shows and artists from Lion King to Six, Matilda to Annie and everything in between the challenge of tackling all these different songs was huge. The time and effort taken to polish these numbers was not lost and the group worked incredibly hard to continue singing with the sound system on offer to them.

Last but not least in any aspect is the Chair and Drama Coach, Sara Ramrekha. Sara’s passion, dedication and unwavering confidence in her incredibly talented bunch was clear to see when chatting with her before and after the performance. Sara and the team have worked so hard to get these young performers to the confidence and level they needed for their performance. Working with a group of young performers when some have been in the company from day one while some had only just joined a month or two before the show, they were all loving their time on that stage. Everyone on that stage should be very proud of their work!

 

We started the evening with some company numbers and throughout the show there were LOTS! The strength of the company hit hard in their first performance of the evening with the Matilda School Song, the whole company sang, danced and acted through the number from start to finish with great attitude and character. Following that we saw a school scene introduced by Mollie Kennedy, performed by Elise Bloomfield, Willow Liddell and supported by the BPYT Junior group. The whole scene was performed brilliantly, with humour and great characters! Act One finished with the whole cast performing Footloose from the musical of the same name and what a toe-tapping, energetic and fun number it was! The whole hall was shaking, which may have been nerve-racking for the creative team, but it was a powerful thing to see from all those talented performers. Act two started with separate group numbers, the Juniors taking to the stage first to perform The Lion King, followed by Whipped into Shape from Legally Blonde. Both numbers and both groups of performers showed brilliant characters and energy throughout. Both with amazing choreography which was slick and stylish.

 

The performance was filled with fun and entertaining duet scenes/songs and smaller groups performing. The sketches throughout the showcase were often a fun nod to the film or stage story and were well-acted showing the characters off well in only a short amount of time. The festering Adams Family group of Mollie Kennedy, Isobel Foster, Lily Lloyd, Lottie Bertram, Lily Taylor, Tilly Whitehouse and brilliantly introduced by Elise Bloomfield. The characterisation and performance of this group was superb, funny and spooky. The creepy atmosphere continued with the Goo Goo Muck - Dead Dance performed by Rosie Morgan & Mary Brace, the dance was well choreographed and performed by both performers to show off their ability to move and contort bodies in ways I didn’t know were possible.

The number Six from the musical of the same name was an energetic and engaging performance; Lottie Bertram, Elspeth Carroll, Imogen Davies, Isobel Foster, Amira Shimi and Tilly Whitehouse all performed with sass and brilliant characterisation for their own individual queen. The attitude continued into act two with Autumn Atkinson, Willow Liddell and Amilia Lumley performing the popular Taylor Swift song Look What You Made Me Do. Two brilliant scenes filled the second half, the first from Paper Moon starring Amiri Shimi, Frances Alexander, Lily Taylor and introduced by Nellie Simpson who explained the complex story behind Paper Moon clearly and confidently. The characters and acting were incredible. I felt the story and emotion was clear and very well performed. A Deadly Dare was our next scene and what a stage debut for Alfie Graham to make, performing alongside Lottie Bertram and introduced by Chloe Hamill. The performance was fun and left the audience asking questions and wanting to know more, brilliantly performed and acted! The final two group pieces were Mean Girls and Annie, two very contrasting performances in terms of characters but both showed depth and understanding. The performance of My Favourite Things by Elspeth Carroll & Amira Shimi was a fantastic ending to the show, their smiley and friendly performance set up the final number brilliantly.

 

Solo performances were also a real treat in the show, made up of monologues or solo song performances. The majority of the songs were chosen by the cast and were all a real challenge but none other than Giants In The Sky from the musical Into The Woods. Sondheim musicals are never easy and Lottie Fisher gave a brilliant performance, overcoming her nerves to perform brilliantly in both shows, supported by her friends, family and the very caring creative team. Isobel Foster performed Hopelessly Devoted To You from Grease which was a beautiful fusion of an emotional and expressive performer, along with a talented and graceful dancer in Amilia Lumley. The Percy Jackson Monologue was an intense, engaging and brilliantly performed story told by Imogen Davies, and was our first monologue of the evening. Amira Shimi was another one of the soloists for this performance, her rendition of Dead Man was brilliant, with strong vocals and a brilliant journey she took the audience on through the song. Act two showed Amilia Lumley as Elle Woods in another monologue, introduced by Autumn Atkinson, her version of Elle Woods was funny and certainly a great performance of the iconic character. Autumn gave a great performance of this bubbly and determined character. Journey to the Past from Anastasia was an incredible performance to see, Chloe Hamill’s vocals, character and storytelling were clear and beautiful to see and hear. She had the audience listening to every note which is not easy with such a challenging piece.

The showcase ended with the full cast, every single one of those performers gave full energy and character to end with another energetic and lively number! During the finale number of ‘Don’t Stop believing’ there were many proud, teary eyes from the creative team and audience which shows their message in the finale was clear. No matter how hard the future may look there is always a way to tackle a challenge, that may be forgetting song words, getting overwhelmed on stage or a whole theatre being taken away from you. Don’t stop believing!

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