News from 2016
Celebrating 2016 at the Viva Awards
Our Viva Awards Ceremony for 2016 has come and gone! What a brilliant evening with awards, performances and being with a fantastic group of people who all work tirelessly throughout the year to make Viva the success it is! See all of our winners below as well as a photo of tribute performance for one very special person. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a great evening. Bring on another busy and fun 2017. The Lady in the Van
'Really enjoyed it. Excellent evening at the theatre. Well done everyone.' 'We loved it. Very emotive - well done!' Just a few comments from our audience over the three performances of The Lady in the Van last week. A huge congratulations to the cast and crew of this show with sell-out performances and fantastic feedback. Read our reviews below. Review from RJ Westwell - Friday 11th November 2016 ![]()
Sell-out Fringe Show 2016
It has now been confirmed by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe box office that our show 'Made in Dagenham the Musical' was a SELL-OUT at the festival this year. We are so proud of everyone involved and this is the icing on the cake after a fantastic run of the show. Well done everyone! Made in Dagenham
Based on the 2010 BAFTA nominated film, this rowdy, stirring, thoroughly British comedy musical centres around the true-life events of the ford sewing machinists strike of 1968. Our Made in Dagenham cast and crew have now finished and what a run they have had. A huge thank you to everyone that came to see and support us this summer in our Made in Dagenham grand tour of Soham, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the ADC Theatre in Cambridge. It has been great fun and we cannot quite believe it is over.Thank you and good night! Read our reviews below... ![]()
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The Tale of Sweeney Todd...
What a week and what a show. Well done to all of those involved from cast, crew, band, front of house support and to our fantastic audiences. The feedback has been great and we are so pleased you all enjoyed it! "From the opening vocals of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”, it was evident that this production had the right singers on board.... Also unmistakable from the beginning was evidence of a well-disciplined and well-rehearsed cast/collective." NODA "This was the first time I have seen you all perform...fantastic cast and the songs were awesome. Well done everybody involved." Audience Member "The ensemble supported the action particularly well with their strong unswerving voices and their wonderfully choreographed movements and the orchestra enhanced the singing and atmosphere admirably." Rosemary Westwell "A fantastic show performed very professionally - an amazing challenge but a fabulous achievement well done to all" Audience Member Photos by Mark at Spotted in Ely See our full reviews below! ![]()
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Woodbridge Drama Festival
The cast and crew of Educating Rita went to Seckford Theatre on Monday 30th May to take part in the Woodbridge Drama Festival. Find out more about the festival here. Educating Rita came away with Festival Runner-Up. Well done to the whole team who helped it happen! |
Viva spent a week under the sea with
The Little Mermaid! A huge congratulations to our cast and production team of The Little Mermaid. Four shows in three days with a cast of 70 aged 7-15 and what an amazing job you did. The feedback has been great and we are all already feeling the post Little Mermaid blues. Check out our reviews below as well as some of the photos. Well done to you all!
![]() Viva welcomes new Patron!
Viva is proud to announce that Kerry Ellis has agreed to become one of the charity’s Patrons. Kerry, who is looking forward to getting involved with Viva when work allows, said… “It's a total pleasure to asked to be a Patron and I'm a big believer in supporting the arts in any way I can. I really believe in Viva and hope Viva continues to thrive and keep entertaining and educating.” Kerry Ellis has become recognized as the First Lady of West End musicals from her starring roles in London and on Broadway, she has also achieved chart-topping success as a recording artist signed to Universal Decca with her debut album ‘Anthems’. Welcome to the Viva family Kerry! Educating Rita
Comments from audience members who came to see Educating Rita sum up a fantastic run of performances... "It was superb! I loved it." "Fantastic performance, enjoyed every minute" "For only £10 you will laugh, cry and be taken on a journey." A massive congratulations to the cast and crew of 'Educating Rita'. The feedback has been brilliant and you can read the reviews below. Educating Rita will be returning to the stage once more on the 30th May at the Woodbridge Drama Festival! To find our more about the festival and to book tickets to support them visit the festival website. ![]()
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East District NODA Awards
![]() Viva sent a few representatives on Sunday to the Annual East District NODA Awards for 2015. The group had a great day out mingling with other local amateur groups and Viva was lucky enough to come away with an award! Viva was nominated for three in total and Abigail's Party, performed in June 2015, was awarded Best Play in District 4S! A huge congratulations to the director (Emma Moat), all of the cast (Sarah Dowd, Kirsten Martin, David Moat, Jon Bedford and Rania Kurdi) as well as to co-director and backstage manager (Maggie Brackenridge). A great team effort and an award well deserved!
Well done to all of our fellow amateur groups, nominees and winners. Thank you NODA for organising and hosting - what a great event! Thank you Ely Tesco!
Last month Ely Tesco chose Viva Arts and Community Group to be their charity for the month. This included Viva members going along for a full day of donation collections as well as advertising Viva to the general public. The total of £365.41 was raised and will be put towards Viva’s busy summer. Viva will be visiting Tesco again this summer to advertise our upcoming summer shows so watch out for us! Evita 2016!
'I wish to convey my huge congratulations for putting on yet another superb West end standard production. We always come away with amazement at the set, the music, the talent and a feeling of delight. It absolutely shows the dedication of the Players and the whole team. Well done for another fantastic show and look forward to the next!' - Audience members Janet and Nicky 'Many congratulations to everyone involved in this show, all the hard work you put into it over the past weeks and months certainly paid off.' Julie Petrucci Regional Representative NODA East District Four South Make sure you read our reviews!
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