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Well done to all involved for raising lots of money!

My family, including grandparents and I, recently (Saturday 19th June 2010) attended one of Barrow upon Soar’s leading annual events; Barrow’s Got Talent 2010, hosted by Barrow Youth Theatre. Once again we were surprised by the quality of the production and the superb talent and creativity displayed by the people of what must be one of Charnwood’s most active villages!

Barrow’s Got Talent is a one night only spectacular that was, on this occasion, nearly a year in the making. It was put together to showcase the amazing talent they have in Barrow and its surrounding villages.

Some of the people we saw had never been on stage before and exactly like the real TV show, we had the chance to vote to decide who our favourite act was. However, unlike the real show, they did not have Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan to stop the very few slightly iffy performers!

I must say that though I know some of the people involved in the organising and production of this event as well as a few of the performers taking part, my expectations were not very high… especially because a few months ago I was encouraged to be one of the acts.

For those who have not witnessed one of my theatrical performances, I really can’t sing and certainly can’t remember my lines! In fact, my only high point was when as Abanazar I fumbled Aladdin’s lamp, caught my thumb in an elastic loop in my false beard, tumbled the lamp down the steps into the audience and twanged my beard into the orchestra!

So having paid our entry fees I can now reveal the Johnstone Family ratings, collated and then over-ruled by me:

Act 1.
Dance by Jessica, Sophie, Stacey and Lydia
The girls certainly enjoyed their moment in the spotlight but if I remember correctly this act needed a little more rehearsal time. >< >< ><

Act 2.
Elvis is in the building – Alistair North
We were reliably informed by the compere that this was Alistair’s second attempt at winning BGT with his Elvis act and with demon drummer Keiran Gaffney he really nailed it this time around with an enigmatic Elvis rendition topped off with some of the King’s greatest moves! Contender

Act 3.
Piano singing duo – Sam and Jenny Graham
Regrettably a no show! >< >< ><

Act 4.
Hebe Jackson on the Cello
A lovely act, sadly I didn’t note the name of the piece she played but it went down well. Could be a contender in future

Act 5.
Abbie Cooper singing
Abbie has a real stage presence and a distinctive and memorable singing voice. A good performance. Contender next year

Act 6.
Dance – Hannah Kenny and Jessica Coulson
A lively and energetic performance from these girls in their brightly coloured tutu’s. Jackie thought that they were very sweet. Entertaining

Act 7.
Georgee Wallin singing
Word from the inside told me that at rehearsals this young lady was supposed to sing a certain number and accidentally bought a backing track to Lady Gaga. Undeterred she shrugged and said it doesn’t matter, I’ll just sing that. 10 out of 10 for confidence but sadly it was a big ask at short notice and though she has a big voice and bags of charisma she struggled with the words in places and fell away at the end. ><

Act 8.
Tilly Yates with a Monologue
A lovely, witty performance from this village character dressed in the Barrow Town football kit. Tilly delivered on many counts and with a Yorkshire accent t’boot. Entertaining

Act 9.
The sensational 6 – singing!
These girls showed a huge amount of spirit, confidence and experience to pull off this iconic number, Sandra D from Grease. It was full of personality and punch. They clearly enjoyed it as much as the audience. Contender

Act 10.
Holy Trinity Junior Choir
A modern track performed with great passion and joy by these youngsters dressed in traditional choir regalia. Entertaining

Act 11.
Sarah Wiltshire on the Piano
Shame that I can’t give this act a proper review. I can’t pick a note to save my life. I enjoyed the performance though. Entertaining

Act 12.
George Robinson with a comedy moment!
A highlight of the evening… George Robinson, in my estimation one of the most intelligent and hard working… and patient (so he led us to believe) characters I know turning his hand to stand up comedy – not the reeling off jokes type, the reeling it off just as it is type and what a performance he gave, initially to a slightly bemused audience. George, with great skill and tenacity, held his nerve and after a time the audience got it and in the end they were more than a little amused with what he led us to believe was just the trials and tribulations of an average weekend. Contender

Act 13.
The one’s that you want, Vicky and Sarah
Fantastic… the slight awkwardness only served to enhance this very funny version of ‘You’re the one that I want’ from Grease. Sarah must have had those trousers spray painted on and Vicki pulled the Danny character off a treat! Contender

Act 14.
Tom Bonnert a juggling sensation
Juggling in darkness… thankfully not with knives! Tom entertained us with some club juggling and unicycling – a circus skills sensation. Entertaining

Act 15.
Stuart Scarborough – Vocalist
I’m not sure as to whether Stuart has much experience on stage but he delivered his Dean Martin number with great assurance and poise. Entertaining

Act 16.
Sam Graham on the Sax
Always thrilled to hear the saxophone being played. My mum had sax lessons in the 50/60′s from a woman in Sileby who apparently used to give singing lessons to Tom Jones! Entertaining

Act 17.
Dance – Georgia, Lauren, Daisy and Molly
This act was a real surprise… These girls started their performance dressed in traditional choir gowns only reach a stage where they ripped them off to reveal what your would call more traditional dancewear beneath. At this point they broke into what you would call a modern dance routine which was performed well. Entertaining

Act 18.
Lou, Hugo and Cop… be surprised
First of all, I must confess that this act secured my vote at the end of the evening. The reason being that I was impressed by its thought and originality on what was an evening of true variety. What they managed to conjure up for us was something very different and a tough one to pull off; a comedy drama scene featuring the familiar characters of Kojak and Batman, breaking into some kind of celebrity death match followed by a chase which brought back fond memories of Benny Hill or Dick Emery which was then followed by a chase that would not have been out of place in George of the Jungle or a Laurel and Hardy movie! Slapstick comedy, revived in many ways by Rik Mayal and Ade Edmondson, but always kept alive by pantomine each year will never fail when it comes to live entertainment – words are for the few however actions speak to many. Contender

Act 19.
Izzy: Female vocalist
I have got to say that this one was pretty special and it does have a background story. Word has it that Izzy turned up for rehearsals with the wrong backing music; I don’t remember what she was going to sing but the music she did have was for Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’. To her credit, her reaction was ‘”it’s ok I’ll just do that one”. Well on the night she belted it out, had loads of stage presence and just about pulled it out of the bag, the only thing was, not knowing how many others in the audience spotted it but she kept reading her arm/hand. Now it is not a big problem for me… I have been known to read from ‘a book of spells/script or someone’s back’ when appearing in panto but I do think that it may have affected her chances on the night.><

Act 20.
Ali and Kimberley the Diablo-ing Duo!
Is it a toy is it a circus act? I haven’t the foggiest! I had never heard of or seen these things called Diablos used before – maybe I live in a bubble. What I can say is that I was very impressed by this act. This girl and boy duo performed tricks very similar to yoyo tricks but with these free spinning… Diablos which brought the audience to the edge of their seats. They did have a couple of slips – once when Ali lost control and the Diablo nearly landed on Kimberley’s face as she lay on the floor but hey even Evil Kenevil dropped the odd clanger and it didn’t lessen the level of entertainment! Contender

Act 21.
The sensational Olly Cavner
Clearly Olly has a wealth of experience on stage. This was a mature and engaging performance playing the devil. His monlogue was delivered with perfect timing, great charm and piles of charisma. Entertaining

Act 22.
Lyrical Dance – Aimee, Lizzee and Chelsea
These girls certainly looked to be products of a dance school though I’m not sure whether they brought this act together themselves for Barrow’s Got Talent or whether they had performed it before as part of a festival or show. There were some lovely moments but it didn’t quite come together for me on the night – it didn’t feel like they peaked on the night. Entertaining

Act 23.
The melodic Andy Kenneth
A great way to finish off the night. Andy, the young crooner, schmoozed his way through this Micheal Buble number dressed to the nines. This boy definitely has a future in entertainment if he wants it enough. Contender

Having all voted for our winners by writing the act number on the back of our tickets and handing them over, we were kept amused by the compere, Andy Kenneth and a young lad with a big glass goldfish bowl which served to be the repository for the raffle tickets – eat your heart out FIFA! Well what a shambles – the young lad just didn’t get it, it was hilarious. it wasn’t until the 8th or 9th ticket had been drawn that it was realised that the winners were going back in the pot! Oh man it was so funny, to be fair Andy did a fantastic job to cope with it in front of a 150+ audience but the young lad kept putting them back in even after the mistake was realised. Brilliant.

And so to the moment we were all waiting for – it was really exciting – the results.

First place went to…………. Ali and Kimberley the Diablo-ing Duo!
Second place went to………….Dance – Georgia, Lauren, Daisy and Molly
Third place went to………….. The melodic Andy Kenneth

The great thing was that we really did not know who would win – all of us in our group voted for a different act and even afterwards had no reason to feel that the winners didn’t deserve it, the standards of the people of Barrow being so great and variety being what it is… the spice of life!

Finally I will make it clear that all opinions given here are my own from memory and no offence is intended – a big well done to those brave people who took part, to those who organised and ran event including Carol and Gordon Kenneth and Barrow Youth Theatre in aid of the Holy Trinity Church Extension Project, and of course the winners.

Bring on Barrow’s Got Talent 2011!