High five for Hope Fest

It is wonderful to see that postlockdown live entertainment is alive, well and thriving with the most recent evidence of this being #Hopefest courtesy of the team at Hope Mill Theatre in Ancoats.

Supported by Developer MANCHESTER LIFE, this week of diverse one nighters saw performances including JUDY and LIZA, YOUR MCR LIVE and THE DOLLY SHOW.

Bill Elms produced Judy and Liza enthralled a clearly fan filled audience, with a double act performance on Sunday night containing plenty of firm mother and Daughter favourites sprinkled with one or two lesser know songs.

West End stars Emma Dears (Liza) and Helen Sheals(Judy) carried the evening with their strong voices and story telling, all reminding us of just what an exceptional pair Garland and Minnelli have been.

The show is now in it's 10th year and continues to tour elsewhere moving forward.

Monday night saw the billed 'end of the pier' show from the team at YOUR MCR the weekly chat show that streams live via several Facebook, Twitter and You Tube pages, with highlights via Instagram too.

Brainchild of BELINDA SCANDAL and IAIN SCOTT, the magazine show has over 200 episodes under their belt and the Hope Fest show was a celebration of same.

The evening introduced by LGBTQ Ambassador Carl Austin-Behan, contained a wide varity of performances by well know regulars to the show aswell as Sue Devaney, Annie Wallace and Denise Welch.

Ru Paul Drag Star Davina De Campo also dropped by to entertain with her usual mix of lively banter, deft movement and strong vocals.

We were also introduced to a couple of new names on the block with singer Passmore particlarly impressive.

The entire performance was expertly hosted by our very own Belinda Scandal who also produced the show with Jonathan Dean.

Wed evening programmed THE DOLLY SHOW with Kelly O'Brien, who has long been recognised as the UK's premier Dolly Parton tribute performer.

There are very few platitudes that have not already been used to describe this consumate performer. 

Close your eyes and you will feel like the real Dolly is on stage and Kelly has expertly developed a series of vocal nuances that complement her super voice. The stage banter is also well observed and entertaining.

She told us that she has a few selected pride events to come and lets hope we can encourage her to Manchester Pride at some point.

Further performances are scheduled featuring Donna Trump and a Frozen singalong and The Sunday Boys in concert.

Check here for details.

Published: 23-Jul-2021 (6292)