Romany Wood anniversary performance hailed a huge success at Theatre Severn
More than 200 children took part in the staging of a production of Romany Wood to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Theatre Severn.
On Monday night, a sell out crowd packed the main auditorium to see the staging of the play, which had first been performed on opening night a decade ago.
Maggie Love, from Shropshire Youth Theatre, took on the role of production manager and was delighted with the success of the show.
She said: "It gave more than 200 children the experience of performing in a proper theatre and we are all thrilled with how it went. Shropshire Music Service provided the orchestra and choirs through their links with schools.
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"The children really enjoyed themselves and it was a great opportunity for them to see how a theatre works.
"This year's production was much slicker than that of a decade ago as we now all know how the theatre works. It was a huge success, without a doubt."
Romany Wood the musical is based on the book of the same title, written and illustrated by Beshlie, a Romany who lives in Shropshire.
Originally staged in 2009, Theatre Severn’s official opening production of Romany Wood was attended by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and narrated by actor Timothy West.
It has become known as ‘Shropshire’s Musical’ and the original production brought together a story created in Shropshire, and hundreds of young performers drawn from the local community.
The original book provided the inspiration for a 40-minute classical work for children’s voices, a narrator and orchestra, written by David Gaukroger and David Carr.
The first half featured a choir and orchestra provided by the Shropshire Music Service, plus special guest soloist soprano Erika Mädi Jones.
This was followed by a revival of the ‘Romany Wood Ballet’, from Elmhurst Ballet School, directed by Robert Parker. The ballet was specially commissioned for the original production and choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Kit Holder.
"The children were able to go in to the Walker Theatre for the second half of the show," added Maggie, who was the project manager and artistic director for the original production. "We live-streamed the ballet on to a big screen in there so they could see it as it was being performed next door. They had a wonderful time."
