The First Fifty Years

The First Fifty- a concert celebrating fifty years of the Langtoft Players. As explained in the programme, the Langtoft Players were formed in June 1973 to raise funds for the Parish Church. It was resolved to hold a concert “if sufficient talent could be found”- and here they are fifty years later upholding the tradition.

The village hall was laid out in cabaret style, but there were sadly a few empty seats – not helped by the fact that this midsummer evening was very hot with thunderstorms threatening, which in the end failed to materialize. Never mind – the cast of eight women and two men kicked up a storm between them. We were treated to a marvelous variety of songs, accompanied by backing tracks, and all of them had featured at some point in shows staged in the first fifty years of the society.

From Music Hall to comedy songs to current West End musicals, nearly all genres were covered with a mixture of solo numbers, duets, and ensemble pieces. We were even treated to a couple of songs accompanied by society members on the guitar. Favorites of mine included Lambeth Walk (with audience participation) and The Ballad of Barry and Freda.

It is always difficult to achieve special effects on a small stage with the audience very close, but the imaginative use of a gauze and clever lighting did create a few magical moments. Projections onto the gauze (and images of previous shows projected onto the wall above the proscenium) were crystal clear and added to the atmosphere.

With regard to the lighting, Langtoft Village Hall is indeed lucky to have a very good lighting rig which was used to good effect. The sound was also first class, and Marc Skinner (stage manager), and Martin Baines running the sound and lighting desk, did a first-class job.

Simple but effective costumes set off the whole thing, and the poster and programme are both of a good standard.

Overall a very pleasant evening’s entertainment, made even better by the cheapest Pimms I’ve had for a long time, and a win on the raffle! Here’s to the next fifty years!

 

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