Playing Our Part: The West End sings for Target Ovarian Cancer

Playing Our Part

The West End sings for Target Ovarian Cancer

This really isn't a review; I don't feel that a one-night concert for such an amazing cause really needs critiques or any deep or detailed thoughts. Instead, I'd just like to make a brief mention of a few of my favourite moments from this incredible evening. There were so many amazing performances that it was hard to narrow down my favourites, but here they are. 

Olivia Brereton, The Light in the Piazza

First of all, I have to start out by saying this is not one of my favourite songs or shows. I saw it quite a while ago, and it falls into the same category as Guys and Dolls; it just really isn't my kind of show. So, although my opinion of the song hasn't changed, I thought Olivia's performance was outstanding. For those few minutes the character was so totally present; no costume, set, or storyline was needed. It was all there on that stage. She never fails to impress. 

Tim Morgan, No One Is Alone

This was the first song of the night that made me teary. I love Into The Woods anyway, but the lyrics of the song coupled with the heartrending performance made it a tearjerker. A simple but effective performance. 

Olivia Brereton and Jeremy Secomb, The Prayer

Beautiful, stunning, captivating - need I go on? Not so much an emotional piece, but quite possibly my favourite of the evening. If I hadn't known better, I wouldn't've realised that this was not the original pairing for this duet. Their voices together and individually are gorgeous, and all together this piece was just so elegantly beautiful.

Shona White and Gillian Budd, For Good and Celia Graham, Love Never Dies

I'd been avoiding For Good and the entirety of Love Never Dies for personal reasons (the same reasons that mean Purple goes to every show with me), so as soon as I saw these on the program I knew it was going to be emotional. Both performances were outstanding, and I'm glad that I saw them. A nice balance between singing and performance. Honestly I can't say a whole lot about the performances though; I could barely see through the tears. But I needed to hear these songs again eventually, and I can't think of a better way to do it than with the lovely performances of Shona, Gillian, and Celia. 

Also a massive shout out to Killian Donnelly, who came straight from a performance of The Commitments (not the most energy-conserving show!) and sang with so much energy and gusto. That was hugely impressive. 

That was an incredible, entertaining, and emotional evening I'll never forget. I had an amazing time, and although I can't suggest you go see it (as much as I wish it happened every Sunday night), I do suggest you go support the performers in their shows, including Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and The Commitments. 

If you want to get involved with Target Ovarian, take a look at their website: http://www.targetovariancancer.org.uk