I didn’t know what to expect with this, I am fortunate enough to get asked to review ‘anything’ and I am certainly up for experiencing new things – I rarely Google in advance as I like to go in blind with no preconceived ideas. This helps me to be more open – and it’s also far more fun!
‘Pop Chorus Presents Human – an audio-visual spectacular: A Celebration of All of Us’ was on the posters. Walking into the Regent Theatre there was a huge mix of people in the audience and a real friendly buzz going on. The stage setting was a couple of screens and platforms for, potentially A LOT of people to be on stage. Cool – lots of people singing – the voice in an amazing instrument so this may be very interesting.
As a large number of people started to get onto the stage, to the backing track ‘Human’ by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, it was a powerful entrance and I was still intrigued as to what the evening held.
This was not a group of people showing off their singing talents chucking out pop songs: This was an amazing group of people from the region, from all walks of life all coming together to sing their hearts out. What was empowering and emotional, you knew each person had a story to tell, had a challenge to overcome and they were expressing this through singing together.
This group of singers were led by a very passionate and warm choirmaster, Yula Andrews. The song choices were good: Praise you, Atomic, Rocket Man, Run, Reach, It’s My Life, Zombie, December Will Be Magic Again and more…however, it was the arrangements that made them extra special. Not only getting over 250 people singing tricky songs, there were five-part harmonies and a slightly different take on the tracks which was fabulous.
There were a couple of mash up songs: three songs interlinked with each other to make a new sound. These were very clever and very enjoyable. The visuals were a mixture of empowering quotes from famous people or they suited the mood of the track, with Zombie, for example, there were images from the devastation caused by the IRA and other similar organisations.
They shared the stage with some special guests: The Debenham Girls (who almost stole the show), and staff and clients from ICENI, a local charity which Pop Chorus has been raising money for. It was a choir performance, but it was a charity evening to raise lots of cash and they did! This night they raised over £2,000 from the raffle.
The reason the beginning of the night had a friendly buzz about it was due to all the audience members being, of course, friends and family of those in the chorus. Is it a show to go to if you didn’t know anyone in the chorus? Hell yes – because it’s moving and inspiring. Well done to everyone involved in this special evening.
It’s a brilliant, passionate, empowering, emotional concert of humans singing and being part of this group which “is all about kindness, support and to change the world one choir at a time, one song as a time.” I choked.
This review first appeared on GrapevineLIVE.