Estate musical went like a dream

12:00pm Tuesday 5th March 2013 in News Photograph of the Author By Mark Taylor, Reporter. Please call me on (01865) 425411

Zac Strong, eight, and Sheldon Smith, 17 Buy this photo » Zac Strong, eight, and Sheldon Smith, 17

THE dramatic tale of a coat of many colours has entertained residents on an Oxford estate with many talents.

A raucous three-night showing of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat ended in Blackbird Leys on Saturday with a spectacular finale.

The show featured actors, singers and dancers from the estate, and even the sets were put together by residents.

Like many performers, Blackbird Leys resident Andrew Pledge had never trod the boards, or even thought of it until he applied.

The 38-year-old enjoyed a star turn as the Pharaoh, complete with Elvis regalia and sunglasses.

He said: “The nerves were unreal. If you’d have seen us rehearsing a couple of weeks ago you wouldn’t have recognised the show, it seemed like it could easily have gone so wrong.

“But it came together and it was magic – wonderful. The amount of work the organisers put in was phenomenal.

“And how many times in life do you get to strut around as Pharaoh Elvis?

“The whole thing was a complete success and I, like everyone else, was proud to be a part of it. I’m quite a shy person usually, so it was totally out of my comfort zone.”

The idea of the show came about while mum-of-three Sasha East was painting her daughter’s bedroom and humming the tunes to the Andrew Lloyd Webber smash.

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She pitched the idea to Blackbird Leys Parish Council, Leys Housing Consortium, Communities First, and Westhill Endowment, which joined together to give £5,000 in total.

Little did the 40-year-old realise how quickly her am-dram dream would snowball into a full-blown show.

Pupils from Pegasus School in Blackbird Leys, an amateur choir consisting of dads from the estate, and the Blackbird Leys choir, the renowned collective formed for a Channel Five TV show eight years ago, were also involved.

Musical director of the choir Trevor Davies shaped the soundtrack and stage directions, and a professional touch was added by the Oxford Theatre Guild which helped with directing, photography and sourcing costumes.

The Church of the Holy Family in Blackbird Leys Road rocked as hundreds packed in to watch.

Ms East said it was proof that Blackbird Leys was an ordinary estate which was capable of “extraordinary magic”.

“Considering the amount of people involved it went like a dream,” she added.

“There was a huge cast, not to mention the musicians, the choir, and all the people behind the scenes.

“A lot of people have made a lot of friends and it just shows how wonderful it can be to bring people together.”

Comments (4)

1:44pm Tue 5 Mar 13

Lord Palmerstone says...

he pitched the idea to Blackbird Leys Parish Council, Leys Housing Consortium, Communities First, and Westhill Endowment, which joined together to give £5,000 in total.
Why?
he pitched the idea to Blackbird Leys Parish Council, Leys Housing Consortium, Communities First, and Westhill Endowment, which joined together to give £5,000 in total. Why? Lord Palmerstone

10:35pm Tue 5 Mar 13

Myron Blatz says...

Why doea Labour-controlled City Council spend so much time, effort and (our) money trying to project a better image of Blackbird Leys, at the expense of many other parts of Oxford?
Why doea Labour-controlled City Council spend so much time, effort and (our) money trying to project a better image of Blackbird Leys, at the expense of many other parts of Oxford? Myron Blatz

7:58pm Wed 6 Mar 13

littlemorewoman says...

Lord Palmerstone wrote:
he pitched the idea to Blackbird Leys Parish Council, Leys Housing Consortium, Communities First, and Westhill Endowment, which joined together to give £5,000 in total.
Why?
Hi Lord Palmerstone,

Firstly I am a woman so it is she not he. Why did I seek funding to put on this project you are asking? I had an idea of doing something that would bring people together, that would be fun, that would drum up a bit of community spirit and enable people of different ages and abilities to do something together. The funders agreed that this was a good idea and wanted to back it, the cast and crew of over 50 people certainly enjoyed it and I have lots of feedback that confirms this and the several hundred people that came out to see it also enjoyed it.
[quote][p][bold]Lord Palmerstone[/bold] wrote: he pitched the idea to Blackbird Leys Parish Council, Leys Housing Consortium, Communities First, and Westhill Endowment, which joined together to give £5,000 in total. Why?[/p][/quote]Hi Lord Palmerstone, Firstly I am a woman so it is she not he. Why did I seek funding to put on this project you are asking? I had an idea of doing something that would bring people together, that would be fun, that would drum up a bit of community spirit and enable people of different ages and abilities to do something together. The funders agreed that this was a good idea and wanted to back it, the cast and crew of over 50 people certainly enjoyed it and I have lots of feedback that confirms this and the several hundred people that came out to see it also enjoyed it. littlemorewoman

8:00pm Wed 6 Mar 13

littlemorewoman says...

Myron Blatz wrote:
Why doea Labour-controlled City Council spend so much time, effort and (our) money trying to project a better image of Blackbird Leys, at the expense of many other parts of Oxford?
Myron.

I am not sure why you are mentioning the Labour Party or the city council in your response to this article. Neither the Labour party nor the city council had any involvement in this production and it was an entirely community run and managed project, the city council provided no funding, no input and we have not taken any of their resources away from any other part of town.
[quote][p][bold]Myron Blatz[/bold] wrote: Why doea Labour-controlled City Council spend so much time, effort and (our) money trying to project a better image of Blackbird Leys, at the expense of many other parts of Oxford?[/p][/quote]Myron. I am not sure why you are mentioning the Labour Party or the city council in your response to this article. Neither the Labour party nor the city council had any involvement in this production and it was an entirely community run and managed project, the city council provided no funding, no input and we have not taken any of their resources away from any other part of town. littlemorewoman

Comments are closed on this article.

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