Melanie in Children's show in Shrewsbury

[grant]

Romany Wood

A musical for children

Theatre Severn - Shrewsbury 25th & 26th March 2009

Hello everyone

I have just received the Spring 2009 Brochure for Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury.

Melanie Nakhla is billed as the soloist for the above production which also features Timothy West as narrator along with the Shropshire Youth Orchestra and Elmhurst School for Dance.

Tickets are £10. More details and online booking HERE

According to the brochure, the choral section of the evening will be broadcast on BBC Radio Shropshire on the evening of 25th March. No time is given.

Best wishes
Grant

[dazza]

Hi Grant,

Thanks for the information, it sounds very interesting.

As Shrewsbury is pretty close I may be interested in going along to one of these, I can't decide until much closer to the time though.

Dazza

[chris]

Thanks Grant for this Information

All The best Melanie

There is the write up (from the Link Grant provided) about the production, so we have it on record in case the site goes down, link gets removed etc etc



Wed 25 - Thu 26 Mar

Romany Wood

Venue: The Auditorium
OFFICIAL OPENING PRODUCTION

A musical for children starring over four hundred young people from across Shropshire!

Narrated by Timothy West CBE
Soloist Melanie Nakhla
Words and Music by David Carr
and David Gaukroger
Artistic Director Maggie Love
Choir Director Lorna Crosse
Featuring the Shropshire Youth Orchestra
Also featuring students of Elmhust School for Dance
Choreographed by Kit Holder
Under the Direction of Desmond Kelly OBE

To celebrate the official opening of Theatre Severn we are delighted to present a unique staging of the magnificent children’s musical Romany Wood.

Based on the book of the same title, which was written and illustrated by Beshlie, a Romany who lives in Shropshire. This wonderful book provided the inspiration for a 40-minute classical work for children’s voices, narrator and orchestra, written by David Gaukroger and David Carr - who have both lived and worked in Shropshire for many years. We were looking for something special to mark the opening of Theatre Severn and discovered this perfect piece, which, although having its origins and roots firmly planted in Shropshire, has never received the local première it deserves. The first half of the evening will see the Shropshire Youth Orchestra joined by a 300-strong choir of primary school children from across Shrewsbury and the surrounding area. The first half will be narrated by one of Britain’s most treasured screen and stage actors, Timothy West, and will feature special guest soloist; Shrewsbury’s own Melanie Nakhla of the classical girl group All Angels. This will be the first theatrical staging of the concert ever seen with imaginative scenery and theatricality which will bring this magical tale to life.
For the second half of our evening we present the première of the ‘Romany Wood Ballet’. Specially commissioned to celebrate the opening of Theatre Severn, this section of the evening will be directed by Desmond Kelly, one of the leading figures in the world of ballet. For many years Desmond Kelly has been Assistant Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet and he now takes up the role of Artistic Director for Elmhurst School of Dance. Elmhurst is the UK’s oldest vocational dance school and offers the highest quality training in ballet at a five-acre site in Edgbaston. Choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Kit Holder, this interpretation of the piece is sure to delight and be a fitting celebration for Theatre Severn. Holder’s previous choreography includes Conversations (The Royal Ballet’s 75th Anniversary Celebrations), The Planets (Uranus) and Small Worlds, both performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet.

The choral section of the evening will be broadcast on BBC Radio Shropshire on the evening of Wednesday 25th March.

Ticket prices and Booking Information
Performance: 7.30pm
Ticket prices: £10

[drew]

Shropshire Magazine

The curtain set to rise

Theatre Severn holds an imposing position by the river, just over the Welsh Bridge.

Neil Thomas on the passing of Shrewsbury Music Hall and exciting times ahead at Theatre Severn
It’s not every day that a brand new, purpose-built theatre costing £30m is unveiled anywhere in the UK, particularly in such austere times. So there is much to rejoice at in the opening of Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury this month.

The very first public performance at the state-of-the-art riverside venue launches a series of lectures in connection with the Darwin Festival Celebrations, marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous Shrewsbury-born naturalist. It will be delivered by Lord May and it is difficult to think of a more distinguished speaker. Robert May holds professorships at both Oxford University and Imperial College, London, and was formerly President of The Royal Society, Chief Scientific Adviser to the government and head of the UK Office of Science and Technology.

His appearance on Sunday, February 22, will be a red-letter day in the cultural life of Shropshire. The opening of this theatre marks the realisation of decades of dreaming and scheming, of ideas and arguments, of hopes raised and dashed.

The idea of a new theatre was mooted as long ago as the mid-1940s when Shrewsbury Borough Council took over the Music Hall.

“The need for a new theatre stemmed partly from the fact that the Music Hall was never built as a theatre but an assembly room,” says Theatre Manager Lezley Picton.

The Victorian building would have been difficult to renovate without virtually ‘gutting it’, driving up the cost to that of a new-build, says Lezley. She believes that building had about two years left before it needed big money spent on it just to ensure it was safe.

Large-scale productions were impossible to stage there because of the difficulty of transporting big props and gear through the narrow streets to the rear stage-door entrance which opened onto College Hill.
What’s more, its town-centre location was as often a hindrance as a help. Large-scale productions were impossible to stage there because of the difficulty of transporting big props and gear through the narrow streets to the rear stage-door entrance which opened onto College Hill. For instance, a large BBC outside broadcast transporter got stuck when bringing equipment for an edition of Question Time.

For performers, there were “access issues” hidden from the audience, says Lezley. “It was not easy to get from the dressing room to the stage, particuarly for the more elderly and frail like Mickey Rooney and John Mortimer.”

When 88-year-old Hollywood legend Rooney appeared three years ago, it took him 15 minutes to make it to the stage from his dressing room.

“It took a lot out of him and was frankly embarrassing from our point of view,” says Lezley.

None of this should detract from the phenomenal success of the Music Hall, which closed its doors for the final time in January.

The irony is that purpose-built theatres in Shrewsbury like the Granada and Theatre Royal closed down, while the one building that was never intended as a theatre surived and thrived.

Programme and marketing manager Adam Burgan believes the Music Hall has “punched above its weight” for years and eventually became a victim of its own success.

“Too many people used it and it couldn’t cope. Theatres across the country are, on average, 50 to 60 per cent full. At the Music Hall the average per show was 90 per cent. What an achievement!”

However, without the scope to expand the facilities, so many opportunities for revenue were lost. For example, when comedian and actor Lee Evans played the venue, the 384-seat auditorium could have been filled five times over. There was similar demand for tickets to see deadpan comic Jack Dee. In turn this limited the budget for attracting performers.


The Blues Band will be one of the early attractions at Theatre Severn.
Luxury
That should be considerably less of a problem at Theatre Severn, which boasts a 650-capacity main auditorium featuring luxury seating and air conditioning. It also has a range of sophisticated backstage facilities providing the most up-to-date potential to create theatrical make-believe. For example, the first panto next winter will see Peter Pan ‘fly’ across the stage, a feat that would have been impossible at the Music Hall without the risk of bringing the roof down. As well as arts and entertainments, it is envisaged that the auditorium will host medium-sized conferences and lectures.

In addition there is the 250-seat Walker Theatre, which will house a more experimental programme by a range of creative artists.

“Shropshire has a wealth of talented performers of all ages and they will have an affordable space to present their work in the Walker,” says Adam. The Walker Theatre can also be transformed into a 500-standing venue for live music as well as cabaret seated events. It can be used for conferences or lectures. It has been named after The Walker Trust in recognition of its generous donation to the Theatre Severn project.

The restaurant will offer meals throughout the day including fine dining, while the bar is housed within an exisiting building, the former chapel dating back to 1865, and has floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the town.

With natural light, a fully sprung floor and state-of-the-art sound system, the dance studio will host classes every day and be used by people of all ages and abilities. The Viv Kelly School of Dance and Centre Pointe Dance School will both hold regular classes which are open to all, ranging from baby ballet to tap dancers in their 80s.

The Haydn Smith Room is the hospitality suite and can be used as an additional dressing room or space for artists to relax.

It enjoys breathtaking views of the river and Shrewsbury and can accommodate up to 80 guests for corporate hospitality. The room is named after Haydn Smith, who was heavily involved in developing the theatre’s IT system until his death last April.

Theatre Severn’s official opening – with performances on March 25 and 26 – will be a musical for children called Romany Wood, featuring Shropshire Youth Orchestra and a 300-strong choir of primary school children from across Shrewsbury and surrounding areas. The classical work has been adapted by David Gaukroger and David Carr from the book written and illustrated by Beshlie, a Romany who lives in Shropshire.

Treasured
It will be narrated by one of Britain’s most treasured stage and screen actors Timothy West CBE and will feature as guest soloist Shrewsbury’s own Melanie Nakhla, of the classical girl group All Angels.


Timothy West will narrate the opening production, Romany Wood.
“We were looking for something special to open the theatre and discovered this perfect piece which, although having its origins and roots firmly planted in Shropshire, has never received the local premiere it deserves,” adds Adam.

Act Two will be the premiere of Romany Wood Ballet, specially commissioned to celebrate the theatre’s opening and directed by Desmond Kelly, one of the leading figures in the world of ballet, and choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Kit Holder.

Early indications are that Theatre Severn will build on the popularity of the Music Hall. The number of theatre-lovers signing up to be ‘friends’ at £25 a year has already doubled from the Music Hall days to 1,000.

Among the early acts to appear at Theatre Severn will be poet, writer and broadcaster Pam Ayres. Her show on February 24 quickly sold out and a second night was hastily arranged – which has also sold out.

Clearly theatre is alive and well in Shropshire and in for exciting times.

• Visit www.theatresevern.co.uk for comprehensive listings.

[drew]

Shropshire Star

Curtain up on Prince Edward’s visit

Shropshire will today roll out the red carpet for Prince Edward, who will fly into the county to officially open Shrewsbury’s new £28 million theatre.

The Earl of Wessex’s royal tour will begin with the official unveiling of Shrewsbury’s Monkmoor Campus for Severndale School and Wilfred Owen Primary School, with school pupils getting the chance to meet the earl.

The £17 million showcase education and health project is set to transform overcrowded schools and provide a base for county-wide children’s health and family support services.

The earl will then visit Theatre Severn as part of his whistle-stop tour.

He will see a short video presentation of the construction of the building and will also watch a 15-minute presentation of musical Romany Wood.

He will take to the stage to officially declare the riverside theatre open. On a tour backstage, escorted by cultural services manager Lezley Picton, he will meet actor Sir Timothy West and Shrewsbury’s All Angels star Melanie Nakhla as well as members of the design team.

Ten-year-old cancer patient Sophie Foxley, of Bicton Heath, will present the earl with teddy bears for his children James and Louise.

The earl will then travel to Telford’s Denso factory at Hortonwood

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[drew]

Shropshire Star

Sophie’s star of show

A Shrewsbury girl, who has battled with leukaemia for nearly three years, was the star of the opening of Theatre Severn when she presented the Earl of Wessex with teddy bears for his children, James and Louise.

Sophie Foxley, 10, of Bicton Heath, watched the opening performance of Romany Wood with her family before she gave the teddy bears, made by Merrythought in Telford with the Theatre Severn logo, to the Prince.

She said: “I cannot remember what I said to him. It was a bit overwhelming. I was a bit nervous but I said I had a couple of teddy bears for your children. He said thank you.”

Sophie was given a bear herself to take home - and said she was honoured to share the same toy as the prince’s children.

The earl also met Shrewsbury’s Melanie Nakhla, of classical girl group All Angels.

She said: “He asked if we had another album out and I said yes and he sounded quite excited.

“It’s really flattering he knows All Angels and our music. He was a really lovely man and very friendly.”

Actor Timothy West, narrator in the show Romany Wood, said he was thrilled to see the new theatre.

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[richnorri]

Thanks for posting the article, Drew!

There are some excellent photographs of the event, including this one of Melanie. Nice dress!

All Angels star Melanie Nakhla performs

Richard