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!

Great stuff BMT!

Thank you to Jan and Ron for representing us at the awards ceremony Tuesday. We served to win, but top marks to those who did.

Jan and Nicola are also here

Accidentally upset some of our hard working committee members! If you have not got your tickets for our forthcoming speed quiz yet then get in touch with us!

First committee meeting 2015

After last word AGM tonight saw the first meeting of the new committee. We've been going for almost an hour and made it all the way to the third agenda item!

Images of Olivia, selected by Google

https://plus.google.com/102741118071423185230/stories/4a2e815c-4914-3d85-8d44-40d795ecea831481552a5cd?authkey=CODg7u-3krDEzwE

As well as being pretty amazing in our concerts, the company has been delighted to perform at other events to make them personal and special. This video is from a recent wedding where we sang to welcome guests to the church - initially Christmas carols outside, then moving inwards as the bride was imminent.
We worked closely with the bride and groom to make sure that our song list matched what they wanted. In this video you can hear two of our talented ladies sing the Flower Duet from Lakme as the bride made her way down the aisle.

All the company enjoyed singing at the wedding and helping to make the day a little more special.

Raise your voice!

I thought you would love this shot of the ladies rehearsing for our Autumn concert. You can see how much fun they are having. Come and see the final version on 12th or 13th of September.

A smashing show!

Anyone who was fortunate enough to have bought a ticket for the Belper Junior Musical Theatre performance of Olivia! this weekend managed to get a real treat; it's just a shame that a few more folk didn't avail themselves of the opportunity.

It's not a show that I knew anything about (and yes, I am aware that's a familiar phrase for me when it comes to musicals) but I read up on it a bit beforehand to make sure that I could put something half way accurate into the programme. It's clear that a lot of thought has gone into the script and the style of many of the songs within it. And that made it a great show to see, trying to pick up on the links.

Niamh Pugh, who took the part of Olivia, threw herself into the role with a high level of enthusiasm and energy - right up to the last moment and her hamming it up for the Convict's Child lament was a real joy.

Lucy Taylor, taking her last role in a Junior performance as she moves up to the adult company, was excellent in her portrayal of Eliza and her voice showed a great deal of maturity as she sang her songs with accent and aplomb. Great stuff.

Daniel Shaw and Jacob Mellors as the Artful Dodger and Fagin entranced the whole audience whenever they were on the stage. It was an incredible partnership and worthy of a west end show. I know that I am a little biased on this one, but I reckon that their performance more than justifies my praise.

The best part was that there were so many other parts for people to shine in. With Samuel Brookes quite literally high kicking his way across the stage as George Bernard Shaw, Ben Thompson's Dr Watson rescuing Joseph Hext's Sherlock Holmes. Queenie, Doris and Flo (Katy Varney, Carys Lesley and Holly Pridmore) were a hoot as they both gave continuity in Covent Garden and offered sage life advice to Jess Henshaw's Annie. It was lovely to see that Poppy Hargrave had a chance to demonstrate her dancing skills as Derbhile. All of the cast were great - I just don't want to risk boring people more than usual by commenting on Oscar Hewitt-Richard's Bristolian accent (Donkeys?) or Ben Hewitt-Richards Dumbledorian lamp lighting (was it magic?). Molly Hewitt-Richards was amazing as Mrs Murdstone, Robert Mosley was a great Ebenezer Scrooge, Lucy Jennison's usher was pedantry personified and Jack Mosley made an awe inspiring white wigged judge.

Actually the one last person that I will make a special mention of was Sophie Hext who shone as Mrs Dilber. She had a great voice and acted the part really well.

So a huge thank you to everyone who took part. You looked like you loved every minute and that made sure that the audience did too. We can't wait to see and hear you on the stage for the Autumn Concert!

What's next?

As our long hot summer period rolls around again I know that many of you find your thoughts turning longingly to the arrival of our cooler September again. And what could be cooler than the Belper Musical Theatre Annual concert! Ok so maybe icecreams could, and possibly a long cold drink, or penguin's feet. In fact many things could be cooler than our concert, but that really wasn't the point that I was trying to make. What I wanted to get across here was that our rehearsals are now up and running and ready for our Autumn Concert and this year is going to be great.

Before I try to whet your tastebuds with thoughts of listening to Bohemian Rhapsody or a great Les Miserables medley though, I thought that you would all be pleased to hear that a dedicated group of our ladies is once again taking to the streets for the moonlight walk to raise money for Treetops hospice.

It will be exactly two years since Linda Furnival died from cancer when this year's moonlight walk takes place. The team at Treetops were there for her when she needed them, and when her family needed them. Raising money for them is one way that we can say thank you. I know that there are many good causes out there asking for you to dig deep and help them to keep going. If you can spare some cash, then please click on this link https://www.justgiving.com/jen-lewis and add a couple of pounds to the funds. Thank you.

Olivia?

Now that some of the excitement after our amazing production of Annie Get Your Gun has died down, I thought that it was a good opportunity for me to start to build the hunger for folk to come along to our next Belper Junior Musical Theatre production.
This time around they are putting on 'Olivia!'
As many of you know I have a very limited knowledge of musicals although I do try hard to learn the words and the tunes (and occasionally the rhythms) of all the ones that we do. So I had no concept at all of a musical called Olivia and my anticipation was that it would just be some tiresome feminist rewrite of Oliver! However, I am assured that this is not the case.
The script is full of humour and is well written and it follows the progress of a young girl (who just happens to be named Olivia) from a downtrodden beginning in an orphanage through the streets of London and, who knows, possibly a happy ending.
The production is well written and offers a real showcase for our junior talent, male and female. You can look forward to meeting Eliza Dolittle (My Fair Lady), Artful Dodger, Fagin, Sherlock Holmes and George Bernard Shaw. Mix that with great songs and the hard work of our production team and it's a show that will not disappoint.
You've seen some of the stars on stage with us in Annie Get Your Gun, so now is your chance to support our stars of tomorrow and give them a full house at each of their three shows.
As always you can buy your tickets through our website at bmt.ticketsource.co.uk

I will find an electronic copy of the flyer and see if I can work out how to upload it to here as well! (Sometimes my IT skills are more limited than my knowledge of musicals)

Review number three - NODA

You can find this review on the NODA website at NODA Annie 2014 and I have to say that I am delighted with this one as it stresses that Charlie Davenport was splendidly portrayed by Matthew Shaw. Ok, sadly it runs out of steam after that and bangs on about Jen Lewis and Chris Grantham yet again. But it's still a great review of a fun show.

And for those of you who enjoy watching our annual parodies (you can always buy tickets to our annual dinner) then this link may work 2014 parody if it doesn't then let me know and I will try to get the original file off whoever recorded it - judging by the accompanying laughter it was Liz!

Review number two

Here's our second review. You can find it online at ArtsBeatBlog

REVIEW: ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, BELPER MUSICAL THEATRE

February 20, 2014

Belper Musical Theatre has hit the bull’s eye with its latest production – Annie Get Your Gun.

The team staged the colourful and lively show with plenty of panache and a whole heap of enthusiasm.

Annie Get Your Gun is a show within a show and tells the story of Colonel Buffalo Bill Cody’s famous Wild West Show and the tempestuous on/off romance of sharp shooters Annie and the chauvinistic Frank Butler.

This version, revised by Peter Stone in 1999, has been updated to be a little more social acceptable than the 1940s original but you still have to remember that some of the lines are from a bygone era.

The one element of this Irving Berlin classic which has given it is enduring popularity is its astonishing collection of songs and this group made sure that they had the perfect cast to perform them in this stellar production.

There was impressive dancing, some hilarious comic moments and just the right amount of aaaah moments when it came to the charming young siblings of Ms Oakley. And to top it all the ten-strong orchestra was performing as part of the set on stage.

Jen Lewis has been a passionate member of the Belper Musical Theatre for more than a decade and she was absolutely fabulous as Annie.

Her powerful voice took the house down and each number was met with rapturous applause. I Got The Sun In The Morning was a triumph. There was no way anyone could have left the building without humming one of the tunes.

As the dashing leading man, Chris Grantham had a challenge on his hands to match up to her but he pulled it off with a commanding stage presence. He was terrific in their toe-tapping duets An Old Fashioned Wedding and Anything You can Do.

As the supporting romantic leads Tommy Keeler and Winnie Tate played by Dominic Osin and Hannah Beastall were a delight and are certainly ones to watch for the future – even though they are already stalwarts of the stage they are still young guns.

Their singing and dancing in the rendition of Who Do You Love, I Hope? was thoroughly enjoyable.

Sarah Stone as the indomitable Dolly Tate headed up the comic players with a commendable performance and David Orange as the mincing Foster Wilson was a scream.

The whole show was extremely slick – it had to be as there was a large cast moving around at speed on what is a relatively small stage.

The set design and construction was spot on and they made a very clever use of minimal props. I was particularly impressed by the creation of the bunk beds for the little ‘uns.

Congratulations must go to all the production team but particularly to director Larry Waller who was new to the team and not a man who has worked with a lot of musicals.

If you want a great family night out with some rousing sing-a-long music then get yourselves down to the community theatre at Belper School. The show is on until Saturday with a matinee that day. For more details go to http://www.belpermusicaltheatre.co.uk

The rest of the cast were: Matthew Shaw, as Charlie Davenport; Ian Jennison, Buffalo Bill; Brian Counter, Chief Sitting Bull; Mike Osborne, Pawnee Bill.

The dancers were Lucy Hassall, Megan Harman, Charlie Orme and Jess Hutton. The children the night artsbeat went along were Jess Allinson, Jess Henshall, Daniel Shaw and Jess Waller. The children for some of the other shows were Daisy Bunting, Molly Hewitt-Richards, Oscar Hewitt-Richards and Anya Staton.

The orchestra were Helen Shelton, drums; Jeff Widdowson, bass; John Hudson, keys; Tim Wright, guitar; Sophia Rudd, reed I; Paul Scott, reed II; Chris Toon, reed III; Gordon Truman, trumpet I, Mathew Knowles, trumpet II and Guy Burrows, trombone.

The rest of the production team were: musical director, Dave Adey; choreographer, Becky Dunning; assistant director Elizabeth Brooks; production assistant Sophie Mander.

The support team were: prompt, Anne Dunning; production co-ordinator, Richard Poole; stage manager, Richard Harman; set design and construction, Ian Jennison; artistic design, Carolyn Hardy; lighting and sound, Paul Frost, Nigel Johnson, Henry Pratt; projection Darren Salt and Mark Jennison; audiovisual design Louis Vella and Jamie Vella; props master, Pete Neale, assisted by Sophie Mander and Katy Neale; wardrobe, Mary Jackson, assisted by Judith Marsden, Helen Allsop, Rachel Allsop and Val Stone.

Front of house, Helen Beastall assisted by Bridgette Dolman-Milner, Maureen Hodgkinson, Howard Jackson, Alison Jennison, Lucy Jennison, Phoebe Jennison, Ron Mander, Sue Manning, Judith Marsden, Barbara Matin, Chris Moorcroft, Steve Morcroft, Linda Oldknow, Daniel Shaw, Sue Shaw, Andrea Sparham, John Stone, Val Stone, Cerys Swift and Eilisha Swift

Thoughts on facial stubble

It seems that today I had to apologise for my failure to shave at a weekend now; the benefits of exfoliation are lost on my stage partner, the amazing Sarah. As if it’s not hard enough having to cope with an increasing amount of white appearing in my beard, my two days off from shaving are out of the window until the end of February – or at least until the end of the show.

Sarah did offer to moisturise my beard thoroughly before I jumped in to my moments of passion on stage, but for some reason the thought of rubbing goose fat or similar on to my stubbly chin failed to enthral her. Beats me.

Anyway, looking on the bright side I don’t think that I need to grow a facial masterpiece like Ian has done to recreate Buffalo Bill. The thrill he gets from sharpening the ends of his moustache prior to taking to the stage is potentially all out of proportion.

I promise to try to remember to shave before rehearsals next Sunday – but we’re off to Cadbury’s World for the day on the Saturday, so would a chocolate moustache do?

Preparing for the show

It’s always somewhere between exciting and petrifying when the show starts to get closer and this year is no different. It’s exciting because the show really starts to come together. And that’s definitely true this year as Ian has already mostly constructed the set. We can stand on the stands, or whatever they are officially called. We can practise carrying on our boxes, guns and racks so that we get a better idea of the space that we need and how long it’s going to take to manage things. That means that the show will be even better – right from the first night! So if I were you I’d be getting online and booking my seat just as soon as I possibly could. Since over half of our seats had sold out for the Saturday matinee before the year began, it’s great to know that tickets are already selling fast. Who knows we may be in the situation we were in with the King and I, where we had to turn people away from the shows as there were no tickets left and we couldn’t get any more seats into the theatre hall. Seriously – book soon to avoid disappointment.

As well as all the excitement of a show that’s starting to come together so well, it’s also kind of petrifying! There are only about four weeks left to the show and that means only four Sunday rehearsals left to get everything in place and make sure that we are as slick as possible with our lines, positions, dances, songs and characters. It’s not easy at all.

But when you are sitting there, watching the set come together, the interplay between the characters and the effort that every member of our cast puts into making the whole show come to life for you. You know that it’s going to be worthwhile We’re looking forward to putting on a fabulous show for you. And we’re sure that you’re looking forward to coming along to enjoy it.