Hey for Christmas
Written, compiled, produced and directed by Gilly Macartney with Sue Trovell
Performed at Bramfield Village Hall (2 December), Wenhaston Village Hall (3 December), Westleton Village Hall (4 December), Rumburgh Village Hall ( 5 December), Cratfield Village Hall (11 December), Sibton ST Peter's Church (12 December)
| Photo: George Harvey |
'Hey for Christmas' opening chorus at St Peter's, Sibton |
Directors' Reports
What a great start to the Christmas season! The Cast of ‘Hey for Christmas’ pulled out all the stops to send our audiences home full of the festive spirit, (and I don’t mean the complimentary mulled wine!). The tour took us to some venues unfamiliar to us and introduced us to new audiences.
The show was a mixture of drama, reading and song linked by the theme of Christmas traditions and Christmas literature. Everybody in the cast had several parts to play or songs to sing, so we kept the set and the costumes simple. Some had to do a quick change from Victorian gentleman in skates to 1930s schoolboy in the space of a few minutes.
It’s a few years since we had so much music in a show, but the whole cast proved more than up to the task, with some great solo and ensemble pieces. All the music was traditional – old folk carols or ballads- a new experience for some of our members! Our audiences loved it however and many were more than willing to join in the chorus! A big thank you to our lead musician and musical director, Bernard Fox, and to my co-director Sue Trovell, who listened to the music and wrote down the dots!
Another departure for us with this production was that we presented the show in co-operation with the village halls, who provided refreshments. This made our performances real community events – just the right spirit for the season. And the atmosphere of each venue was enhanced by the lovely lighting provided by George Harvey, who spent many hours in each venue long before the performers arrived. A great big thank you to George for all his hard work.
It seems a long time ago since a chance remark at the end of our last Christmas show sparked the idea which became ‘Hey for Christmas’. It’s been great fun. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success! Gilly Macartney
Well, nobody can accuse Circle 67 of not being innovative!
This year Gilly lured us all into the folk scene for six performances of a seasonal romp, touring the village halls as in summer we tour the village pubs for our ‘Shorter Shakespeare.’
Out into the grey drizzle of the Suffolk countryside we went, to set up our stage of properties, prompt and Christmas boxes!
George rigged up the fairy lights; Helen brewed the mulled wine and David supplied large bunches of multi-berried and very prickly holly.
The cast arrayed themselves in red and green; musicians and singers tuned up, and suddenly we were off, dancing down to the accompaniment of Bernard’s accordion—Hey, it’s Christmas at last! Sue Trovell
Copies of press notices, programme , poster, and a CD of on-stage cast pictures from Bramfield, Rumburgh and Sibton are available from the Circle 67 Archives: go to Checklists for details of how to obtain them.
