Movies, Music & Mayhem

I never fail to have an absolutely lovely night visiting Spennymoor Youth Theatre Group.  They bring such a wonderful addition to their community, always present well, are full of talent and some of the friendliest faces in theatre.  “Movies, Music and Mayhem” their latest concert was exactly that, such a warm lovely feeling when you get there and the performances were marvellous.

The Group has a very large cast split into their Juniors and Seniors and this time in a lovely touch, we also had some past members making an appearance!  Sure I spotted George Morgan-Watson, Liam Etherington, Jayne Etherington, Stacey Thompson, Wendy Hindmarch, David Galloway, Faye Crosby and likely missed more, sorry!  Lovely to see them coming “home” to Spennymoor Youth and the love and connection they still have with the group.

As always, Louise and Megs Defty have put together a fantastic and varied programme and Meg’s choreography was very well done, clever, well-rehearsed and executed by the cast.  The costumes interchanged, were uniform and appropriate to the performance.  Lighting designed by Brightstar Light & Sound was excellent, as were the pyrotechnic effects added for effect on certain numbers.

In Act One we heard renditions of “Uptown Funk” which was bright and energetic, very much setting the tone for the rest of the evening, “Valerie” by Ava Norris and Evie Stephenson which had some lovely harmonising, “Holding Out For a Hero” with solos from Lucy Edwards, Willow Henderson and Harley Mains which were beautiful and clear, “Another Day of Sun” for which the choreography was superb, “I Love Rock & Roll” where audience participation was very much encouraged and ended up with a flash pyrotechnic, “Ain’t No Sunshine” acoustic from Harry Coles, Jayden Nixon and Brandon Sherrington with their own guitar accompaniment which was lovely, “Cruising for a Bruising” from the dance team which was fabulous with a surprise cameo appearance from some familiar faces, “Falling for Ya” by Willow Henderson which was absolutely fantastic from one so young and sung so well.  It followed with “Pretty Woman” from the boys which was lovely and they looked cool with their shades, “Shake your Tailfeather from the Juniors, “I Want to Dance with Somebody” from Faith Henderson and the seniors, “Dance with me Tonight” by Rhys Bye concluding Act one with “The School Song” with the company plus solos from Faith McDermott, Elizabeth Chaney and Ava Bowman and yet more superb choreography.

Act Two continued with a fabulous opening of “From Now On” with the entire company plus the past members mentioned above.  The build up in the song was naturally atmospheric and really fitting for the past members coming back “home” to Spennymoor Youth.   It followed with “Stand by Me” from the seniors which was again another lovely acapella version, “Life is Highway” from the juniors, “Status Quo” from the seniors acted very well through the various school groups represented on stage, “My Boy Lollipop” by Ella-Rose McKenna, Matilda Coates, Elizabeth Chaney, Millie Payne, Lucy Edwards and Isla Craig in gorgeous blue sequins, “Send in the Clowns! by Mils Cowan and Amy Gatland, a brave choice for youth but they did it very well and the lighting was stunning, “Hold On” from Chloe Armstrong, Abs Newman and Bethany Wanless, “Accidentally in Love” by Rhys Bye, Alfie Stephenson, Harry Coles and Brandon Sherrington which was soft and beautifully performed again with the guitar, “Don’t Stop Me Now” from the whole company with some beautiful formations, “Just One Step” by Tasha Witton which was very confidently sung and very enjoyable; then a wonderful Les Miserables finisher with “I Dreamed a Dream” sung by Evie Stephenson, Amy Gatland, Chloe Armstrong, Abs Newman & Bethany Wanless, “At The End of the Day” by the Company plus past members, “Master of the House” ending with “One Day More”.  We then had a wonderful Barbie themed ending which had the audience on their feet, well done all involved.  What a bunch of stars, everyone on and off stage!  Can’t wait to see you all again at the awards!

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