THERE wasn’t a spare seat to be had as supporters turned out in force to enjoy an evening of eclectic entertainment and raise some much needed cash as part of The Witham’s £30k in 30 days public appeal.
Our host for the evening was David Harper, antiques expert best known for a host of BBC programmes.
After welcoming everyone with an anecdote about an unfortunate mix-up between museums in London, he kept proceedings moving along at a lick.
First up was singer-songwriter Toni Sidgwick, native Shetlander and now happily ensconced in Barney.
She entertained with two of her own compositions, including latest single Cry, before ending with an excellent version of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car.
Young Joshua Greenwell – only 11 – held the audience spellbound with his excellence on harp and piano.
After a short interval soprano Penelope Randall-Davis sang beautifully to an audience so attentive you could have heard a pin drop, after which came Jane Ford and Nicky Tulloch on piano, flute and vocals, with a selection of traditional tunes and jigs – and the opportunity for audience participation.
Ventriloquist Eileen Thompson raised plenty of laughs before Mr Harper returned to auction off a Chris Mouncey original watercolour, managing to tease a top bid of £310 from Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson. In all, the event raised £3,000.
The final section of the show firstly featured members of the Castle Players undertaking a number of readings – Shakespeare, of course, but also an excellent scene from The Importance of Being Ernest. Comedian Cal Halbert rounded the evening off in fine style, raising plenty of laughs with a short set featuring, among other tings, an A-Z of impressions and a magic trick using a “bandana”.
As a showcase, it highlighted perfectly the versatility of The Witham auditorium.
With the £30,000 reached, let’s hope for many more sell-out shows to come.
