A Day At The Musicals - The Big Bath Forum Show!

About 12 months ago, the Show Choir team had the seed of an idea. Our musical theatre choirs had grown so much in size that it had become more and more difficult to get every member on stage at the same time - but if we could somehow make that happen, imagine the sound we would make!

Inspired by the thought of some 350 singers on stage simultaneously, we started asking ourselves, how do we make this happen? The answer was ambitious, and a bit scary. We’d need a stage big enough to accommodate every Show Choir singer. This would mean booking comfortably the biggest venue Show Choir had ever played.

Our immediate thought? The Bath Forum. A stunning art deco venue in the heart of beautiful Bath, and the perfect location to straddle the geographical divide between our Bath Show Choir, Bristol Show Choir, Frome Show Choir, and Weston Show Choir groups.

The capacity? A whopping 1640. Up until then, our biggest venue had been St George’s Bristol, coming in with an audience capacity of a comparably modest 580. It was a big step up. Yet we had a secret weapon on our hands. Our singers! One of our favourite things about Show Choir is that, although our ranks have grown in number in recent years, our singers are just as passionate, fervent and generally brilliant as ever. We were confident that we could make a show at Bath Forum feel just like home.

So on Saturday 23rd March 2024, Show Choir got set to showcase their biggest ever live performance.

Show Day!

Fast forward to the show itself, and what a job our choirs did of putting bums on seats. Around a week before the show, The Bath Forum was effectively sold out, with only a handful of tickets remaining for general sale. Great job!

The show was named ‘A Day At The musicals’, offering audiences a fast paced and fun filled ride through the rich history of the West End. The setlist included classics from shows such as Guys & Dolls and The Sound of Music, 80s and 90s megahits like Phantom Of The Opera and Lion King, and modern West End smashes like Legally Blonde The Musical.

After a full term of intensive rehearsals, each and every singer arrived for show day off-book and ready to perform. Every one of our members went to such great lengths to ensure their performance was second to none, and we really cannot thank them enough for what they did to make it such a remarkable day.

Tech rehearsals began early on the Saturday morning. Getting 350 people on and off a stage in an orderly manner is no mean feat, and a lot of thought went into the logistics of when and how each group would enter the performance space. Backstage became something of a maze, with green rooms and chill out spaces assigned to each location group. It was fairly easy to get lost in it all!

The choirs take to the stage

The show was opened by the fabulous Wiltshire Wailers - an inclusive community choir with groups in Bradford on Avon and Corsham. Chris and Lisa Samuel, the leaders of Wiltshire Wailers, share a fairly strong connection with Show Choir - being the parents of Show Choir’s co-founder Jessica Broderick!

Their performance really set the mood for the rest of the day - joyous, light-hearted, beautifully sung and presented. The audience rewarded them with a warm reception.

Then came the main event. Show Choir took to the stage in front of a packed out audience of friends, family, and public. 350 Show Choir singers and five choir leaders effortlessly swapped back and forth from the stage, entertaining the audience with song after song of glorious West End magic. A particular highlight came during the Proclaimer’s ‘Sunshine on Leith’, from the musical of the same name. By this point, all our groups where onstage at the same time. Hearing so many singers belt out such an emotive piece of music was truly jaw-dropping.

The sound, in fact, was nothing short of remarkable - everything we’d dreamed of when we first imagined making this huge performance a reality. The success of that dream is entirely down to the dedication of our incredible singers and choir leaders. Each and every single person on the stage gave it their absolute best, and the results demonstrated that total, unwavering commitment. It was - in our humble opinion - the best Show Choir performance yet.

By the end of the encore, a rousing performance of One Day More from Les Miserables, the entire auditorium was on their feet in grateful applause. What an incredible show it turned out to be.

All that was left was to celebrate with a drink or three in the bar! There’s nothing quite like the sense of satisfaction that comes from a show of this magnitude, and it was heart warming to see so many Show Choir singers enjoying each others company, and reminiscing on a show that was already going down in Show Choir folklore.

Our warmest thanks.

A performance of this size and scale doesn’t come together on it it’s own. It takes the hard work and application of a veritable village of people to make it a successful reality. Our deepest, heartfelt thanks go to all the singers, choir leaders, photographers, videographers, sound technicians, promoters, front of house staff, artworkers, designers, marketeers and more that worked their socks off to ensure A Day At The Musicals was one we’d never forget.

And now, perhaps you’re wondering, what next? Well here at Show Choir, we’re certainly not ones for slowing down. This summer, we’re taking our West End magic to the world’s biggest creative arts festival, with a six-day run at the Edinburgh Fringe. You can book tickets for that show now.