Bookings are open

As I am getting ready to set off on my summer holidays I can hardly believe that our Autumn performance will be hitting the stage just three weeks after we return. Sometimes it's hard to find a way to share the booking form for our events with you (no-one wants to block up too much space on those massive servers!). If I have managed to sort out the technology side of this properly, then you can click on this link:

Booking form

and it will take you to a PDF version of our booking form. And that should let you download it, fill it in and order your tickets.

To be honest it's much easier just to give Jan a call on 01773 856190 and maintain that personal touch with us. Or you can go to our website:
www.belpermusicaltheatre.co.uk or our ticket booking website
bmt.ticketsource.co.uk

and book your tickets directly. Both of these websites let you choose whether to print your ticket at home, have it as a mobile ticket or have a ticket posted to you.

Whichever route you choose, we hope that you enjoy the show - and please remember to tell all of your friends that you are coming so that they can enjoy the show as well. It's always more fun to have a laugh with your friends than by yourself.

NODA review of the autumn concert

It's always a delight to welcome our local NODA representative to our events and to await eagerly for her review. This has now launched and you can read it here

https://www.noda.org.uk/show-reports/rhythm-is-gonna-getcha#.WdfrpwPC5QY.facebook

If you want to buy tickets for our next show in 2018, Sister act, then get in touch with the guildhall in Derby or go to www.ticketsource.co.uk/bmt

Rhythm is gonna getcha

The final weeks are now here and we are looking forward to seeing you all on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 September for this fantastic concert

As always it's a great mix of songs from the shows and other tunes that will have you singing along and greatly enjoying a great night out.
You can buy your tickets online from www.ticketsource.co.uk/BMT or by calling out ticket secretary Jan on 01773856190.
We look forward to entertaining you!

Amazing Aladdin from our talented Juniors

I was fortunate both to be part of the team helping out at the front of house for the Belper Junior Musical Theatre production this April and also a ticket holder for each of the three shows. This combination offered me the chance to enjoy every single performance and also to see how much other people enjoyed it both during the interval and as they left at the end. The only thing that people felt could have been improved was for the show to have been longer!
Let's start with the whole Junior cast and company. It's great to see so many highly talented children on the stage at the same time (as the Genie points out "It's a BIG musical"). There must have been between 40 and 50 children performing, all smiling, costumed brilliantly and dancing together to some amazing choreography. The main Disney show talks about the need for the set and costumes to be full of colour and able to bring the Arabian marketplace to life and the talents of the costume team for this show certainly showed that Belper is able to play its part in this context.
I think that this was the best choreography that we have seen in a Junior show for a while. It brought together themes of Bollywood together with gymnastics, acrobatics and tap. Absolutely stunning. The combined approach of making the best use of the most talented dancers whilst still using everyone else to support the central theme really was excellent.
Adding to the sense of drama and almost cartoon surreality was the stunning makeup. The effort which transformed Jafar and the Genie deserves a particular mention. How much fun must that have been. And very few people were sure whether the six pack displayed by Aladdin was real or made up - perhaps a Poldark of the future?
Having touched on company, costumes, choreography and makeup, there is an urgent need to recognise the energy and effort that went in to all of this from the directors - both for performance and singing ability. It was clear that great thought had gone into all of the little touches that make the difference between recital and performing and this show had the latter in spades. Each child had a part to play and did it brilliantly, making sure that they provided a living back drop to the story taking part centre stage - and the audience loved it! And the singing was great. Excellent harmonies, clear vocals from the lead roles: even the strangely out of time Why Me was sung with confidence (the timing being the issue of the song not of the singer).
Overall however, it is not fair to write these comments without focusing on the stand out performances from the lead characters. Jafar was great, his parrot has a life ahead of ham acting in pantomimes, the Sultan was perfectly cast and showed perfect comic timing, the Genie was full of life and energy, Princess Jasmine was sweet without being saccharine and Aladdin was the glue that held the whole show together. What an incredible team.
People came out of the theatre hall smiling - as one commented 'My cheeks are hurting I have been smiling and laughing so much'. This show was not a pantomime (despite the best efforts of the Sunday matinee audience) but it was great fun. It told a story and made people laugh and pause for a brief moment of reflection at the thought of friendship and how important it is. I am looking forward eagerly to the next show from this talented group of children.

In memoriam of Terry Bailey

I joined Belper Musical Theatre when the company was just starting rehearsals for Anything Goes - a quick check of the programme shows me that was in September 2008 as the show was in February 2009.
I remember walking into the hall behind Belper's Central Methodist Church and seeing three lines of chairs and Terry at the front, baton in hand, ready to whip everyone into shape. And one of my abiding memories of that show is Terry reminding us all (time and again) that we needed to be able to pitch our starting note for "Public Enemy Number One" at the start of the second act from a single note.
I can move forwards to his advice on enunciation and correct word endings in The King and I, his constant stressing of the need for long vowels and revision and reworking of getting the choral numbers right. And I know that I am one of many who enjoyed singing with middle section of "This is the moment" arranged by Terry Bailey.
One of Terry's habits however was linked to his amazing talent. Because he could hear a piece of music and reproduce it without needing it written down, so often we would be faced with singing a piece that wasn't written down and so would have slight variations (jazzed up a little) each week. It didn't make for the easiest of learning experiences, but it did make things a lot of fun.
I recorded this version of Dayton Ohio, arranged on the spot by Terry, when we were trying to pin him down to the same notes each week. And now I am glad that I did as it means that we have a lasting record of the skills and talents of this guy, doing what he did best.

For me this shows one thing really clearly. Music links quickly to our emotions. Watching and listening to this piece is bittersweet. It's a tale of days which have past, seen with that golden glow of memory, tinged with sadness. I think it's a great way to remember him.
Please use our comments function to add your own memories of Terry and if you have photos or videos of your own, then please send them in so that we can create a page in memory of our Musical Director.
Thank you Terry, you were not just the MD, you were a part of our company and a friend.

Planning the Irish dance

Video from Facebook! Click here

Or try this

https://m.facebook.com/groups/42174693508?view=permalink&id=10153564136348509

Another amazing concert

It's Tuesday morning and the concert is over for another year. It was great to speak with so many people after the performances this weekend and find out how much they had enjoyed it all. For me it was great to hear Duncan's perspective. Duncan is one of our usual performers, singing tenor, but this year he was unable to be in the concert so came along to watch instead. His insight to the impact that all the work we put into our choreography really does make a difference to the audience was great. Indeed he suggests that we should all take a year out and watch the dances to understand why we need to try harder to be in the right place at the right time and with the right facial expression! It is incredibly difficult to do that sometimes though!
Now the countdown begins for our show next Spring with us taking the daring, potentially risky, step of performing Legally Blonde (first time in Derbyshire as an amateur company I think) and running it twice, first here in Belper and then at the Derby Guildhall as well. I know that we have an amazing production team, and we are looking forward to welcoming new members from across the region to join in, have fun and help us to put on an amazing show.
Just let us know on Facebook, or on here, if you want to audition and join our company!