Lady Gaga, Corinne Bailey-Rae, Led Zepplin, Back Street Boys and even the Spice Girls were amongst the many headline acts performing to packed audiences at the Leo Price Theatre, Bishop’s Stortford College in early April this year.

 

Fourteen acts in total competed for the affection, and votes, of the audiences on two consecutive nights in a special Stars in their Eyes charity show extravaganza in aid of research into the rare Niemann-Pick disease.

 

Show host Matthew Kelly (Jack Kenning) was on top form introducing each act with his inimitable style and sense of humour.  A total of forty-five pupils aged fourteen to eighteen were involved in the performances, including a highly accomplished eleven-piece band which included five saxophonists, supporting two members of staff as the Blues Brothers.

 

“We have some amazingly talented pupils at the College and this popular show format was an ideal platform for their musical skills to be showcased in a way that was inspirational, fun and hugely entertaining,” said Deputy Head Graham Brooks. “I challenged the pupils taking part to reach for the stars and make their act as professional as humanly possible. They did all their own planning and preparation with hours spent studying the performance of their chosen star. The standard they achieved was simply incredible.”

 

The staging and lighting, masterminded by Technical Theatre Manager Carl Burton, were equally impressive, with ingenious ways of enabling the six-strong roadie team to change sets between each act within a few minutes.

 

Billy Joel (James Hart), accompanied by Amy Moore on flute, conquered the hearts of the first night’s audience with ‘Always a woman to me’, whilst Brit Award star Lady GaGa (Steph Thorpe), supported by the Ga-getts (Sophie Cornelissen, Jess Reilly, Maddy Hallwood, Chantal During, Rosie Cave, Georgia Martin, Alice Menhennet, Liisel Velland) captured the most votes on the second night with ‘Bad Romance’.

 

“We were absolutely amazed by the professional standard and sheer number of talented young people performing,” said College parent, Tessa Firmin, “It was a fantastic evening which will no doubt be remembered by everyone for many years to come."

 

Vincent Taylor, a friend of College parents who had travelled out from London for the show said: “I was truly astonished at the very high standard of both the musicians and the vocalists. I was also impressed with the obvious camaraderie amongst the pupils, with everyone looking genuinely pleased for the others’ successful performances. The atmosphere was fantastic.”