Sunday, February 21, 2021

Young 'Uns' retro spectacular cuts through lockdown gloom


* Above and below, some scenes from last night's show.



Last night a lockdowdy, rain-soaked Llangollen got a timely reminder – as if it needed it – of what a talented bunch of performing youngsters it has right here on its doorstep.

Unable to stage one of their usual entertainment extravaganzas due to the pandemic a bunch of members from the Young ‘Uns, the Operatic Society’s junior section, took over the internet airwaves to put on a riveting retrospective of their productions ranging back over the last decade.

And it cut through the gloom of a wet February Saturday evening in style.

Behind it was one of its favourite performers of recent years, Shea Ferron, who, in the spirit of an old Hollywood movie, got some of his mates from the team – present and past – to put on the show right here.

He arranged all the pretty complex technical bits to do the live streaming on Facebook while another Young ‘Uns star, Celyn Orton-Jones, helped him anchor the all-singing, all dancing 90-minute spectacular.

Professional performer Ruby Snape appeared as a guest presenter.

The team summoned up others - like them still in their late teens or early twenties – to reprise magical musical memories from smash-hit society shows such as Annie, The Vackies, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver!, Half a Sixpence, Honk, Bugsy Malone, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease and Wizard of Oz.

Among the cast, who had been in one or more of these productions, was  Aled Morris, Katie Clark, Kamil Grzelak, Ethan Le-Cheminant, Ethan Roberts, Grace Roberts, Heledd Edwards and Cassius Hackforth, now at drama school. 

Apart from providing the online audience with some fantastic memories of the shows many of them had been lucky enough to see live, the cast also clearly had a great time getting together with old friends to relive some of the highlights of their recent performing past.

But then having a cool time with your mates and entertaining people into the bargain is what the Young ‘Uns has always been about.

Now Shea and the team has led the way maybe the adult Llan Operatic Society should think about doing a similar thing for some of its more recent shows. Just a thought.   

* You can still catch the show, here: https://www.facebook.com/Llangollen-Operatic-Young-Uns-428765077289488/videos/123892546292344

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