We are now almost three months into 2011, the year of the Rabbit; a placid year where good taste and refinement will shine on everything. Whether you believe in Chinese horoscopes or not (does anyone?), it certainly rings true for London’s West End – forget the year of the Rabbit, this will be the year of the musicals!
To give you a few examples: Ramin Karimloo has extended his stay in Love Never Dies and will now be wow-ing audiences as The Phantom until 3rd September; Les Miserables is spoiling us with three fantastic new cast members, Alfie Boe (Valjean), Matt Lucas (Thernadier) and Hadley Fraser (Javert), all of whom can be seen from 23rd June; that same month will also see the much anticipated opening of new show Ghost, who teased us with a performance by lead cast member, Caissie Levy of the song, ‘With You at the What’s On Stage Awards Sunday night.
There are of course, many other exciting things going on in the West End, but sadly not enough room to mention them all here. However, it’s not only the big musicals that we must take note of; returning for its fourth consecutive year this April is West End Eurovision. For those who are unfamiliar with it, this late-night extravaganza features West End Shows performing past Eurovision songs, competing against one another to gain the votes of a celebrity judging panel and the audience and be crowned the West End Eurovision champions! Over two hours of brilliant, fun-filled (lest we forget, camp!) entertainment, West End Eurovision has been a great success in past years and Number Four is sure to continue that tradition.
Many people are unaware of the charity behind the event however, so I’m going to tell you all about them!
The Make A Difference Trust is a ‘fundraising family’ made up of: TheatreMAD; FilmMAD; DanceMAD and MusicMAD. It works to, ‘bring together the British Entertainment community and its audiences to raise funds to support people living with HIV and AIDS, and those in the entertainment industry facing hardship as a result of a long-term medical condition’ (MADTrust.org.uk). A West End Christmas 2009? That was them. Les Mis Gives…2010? Yep, them again!
MADTrust was founded in May 2008 and has helped many HIV/AIDs sufferers since then, through its various fundraising events. It does fantastic work and I would just like to name some of the hard-working people who are involved in the trust:
TRUSTEES
· David Pendlebury – Chairman of MADTheatre and an actor with extensive West End experience (Kiss of the Spider Woman, City of Angels, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast). The previous Chairman of TheatreCares and West End Cares.
· Julian Bird – Chief Operations Officer for the Tate Group. He is also involved in various other charities.
· Melanie Tranter – General Manager of Dress Circle
DIRECTORS
(Make A Difference Enterprises Ltd)
· Michael George – Head of Merchandising & Licensing for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group
· Peter Patsalides – Businessman, now working as a consultant and non-executive director
· David Pendlebury - (see above)
STAFF
· Sharon Kwan – Accounts. Previous experience includes Production Accountant at the Royal Opera House
· Jeremy Ellis – Office & IT Administrator. Previously worked as a Sound Engineer in the West End, mainly for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh
MADTrust have only two full-time members of staff, relying on the support of volunteers to help in the office, at events, on committees and the Board. I recently volunteered to assist the trust and am excited to aid them in whatever manner possible. If any of you are interested in volunteering, PLEASE do visit the site as they are always in need of people willing to lend their services. Even if you are unable to volunteer, why not help by organising a fundraiser? Events such as sponsored bike rides, runs/walks, swims (waxings are always a fun one!) are always great for raising money for charity, as are bake sales, raffles, boot fairs…there are hundreds of ways you can do it! Of course, donations to the trust are always appreciated too ;-)
This is why shows like West End Eurovision are so important; they raise thousands for the MADTrust cause and the projects they support in both the UK and internationally (for full details, look on the website). So if you don’t have time to volunteer or arrange fundraising events, show your support by buying a ticket to these fantastic shows! Many of us have had pangs of guilt when spending money on ourselves, fully aware that there are much more worthwhile things we could be doing with it…voila! Spend it on a ticket (or two, or three, or four…) and you’ll enjoy an evening of musical entertainment that you’ll never forget, whilst helping out a very worthy cause at the same time; it’s a win-win scenario!
Many who read this are musical theatre lovers, so let’s use that to back MADTrust and the work they do. Spread the word, raise some awareness and aid them in whatever way you can; no matter how big or small, it all helps right?
Remember…create, love, inspire!
Miss Julie xxx
West End Eurovison will be at the Piccadilly Theatre on Thursday 21st April, 11.30pm
(for details and booking information, go to the MADTrust website)
LINKS
Follow MADTrust on Twitter: @MadTrust
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