The Henley based charity Headway produced a real treat last Friday. Both the choir, the Headway Harmonies, and the drama group, the Headway Players, performed to an appreciative audience.   First on the bill were the Henley Harmonies.They performed two songs, Swing Low Sweet Chariot and Jiyahamba, a traditional South African Zulu spiritual.   They were led by Sharon Warnes, the Nordoff Robbins Outreach Music Therapist.  

Then came the turn of the Headway Players; they combined songs from the musical Grease with their own script.The cast included Christina Coulter as Sandy,  John Free as Principal “B”,  Celia Kelly as Deputy Head, Alan Rumble as the Narrator,  Kathleen Child (a volunteer) as assistant narrator and Louise Light as the ex-pupil (and director of the production).

The cast did a splendid job in their roles both in the speaking and singing parts.  The songs performed from the musical were Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee, You Don’t Remember Me, Hollywood Dropout (a rearrangement of Beauty School Drop Out), There are Worse Things I Can Do and We Go Together.   The finale included the audience and cast singing “We Go Together” with all the Do-Wops and Be-bops.   It was truly a great experience for the cast, choir and audience.

Special thanks go to Mark Burton, the Musical Director and David Light as stage hand.

Many thanks also go to the Kenton Theatre for offering Headway the use of the theatre; it was a true theatrical experience. The Kenton volunteers were Wendy Bowsher, Cliff Colborne, Hugh Leigh, Martin & Christine Jarvis. The props and costumes were kindly loaned by Julie Huntington of HAODS.