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Nostalgia: A Joseph dream in 1986

Distance was no object for a teenage trio who never tired of seeing their favourite show.

Whenever and wherever Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat was on stage, Claire Pugh, Janet Moss and Kate Fricker were determined to be in the audience.

The devoted trio had followed the musical’s professional touring production all over the country. Fifteen year old Claire from Denton had seen Joseph an incredible 31 times. Janet, 17, from Dukinfield was not far behind on 24, while Kate, 15 of Haughton Green still had some way to go to catch up after seeing her tenth performance.

Claire and Janet met by chance when the show came to the Palace Theatre, Manchester. Since then they had travelled far and wide, with Kate joining them for several outings.

Janet revealed she had been one of Joseph’s greatest fans since she played an Israelite in a production at Lyndhurst Primary School.

Along with Claire, she leaped at the chance of appearing in a one-off performance at St Hilda’s Church, Audenshaw in May 1986, involving church singers, Cubs and Scouts and boys from Audenshaw High School.

Energy, enthusiasm and some previously hidden talents across all age groups made for a successful evening - the first musical production at St Hilda’s since the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas which had been popular in the 1950s.

In the same month, St Brigid’s Operatic Society made a sensational debut at the annual Reporter Theatre Awards night with a show-stopping selection of Joseph songs. 

The group based in Bradford, East Manchester had the audience clapping and swaying along to the rock ‘n’ roll Pharoah Song and the grand finale Any Dream Will Do.

The highspot of the amateur stage calendar had moved temporarily to the Metro, Ashton, from its usual home at Tameside Theatre, which was closed for alterations.

Faced with space restrictions of an apron stage, producer Geoffrey Holme still devised a show to offer plenty of scope for actors and singers to shine. 

The cast representing the cream of our area’s amateur societies treated the audience to a thoroughly entertaining evening which started with Michael Cheeseman on sparkling form in the opening sequence from Cabaret.

A ‘first’ for the awards show was an appearance by the Dennis Sign Singers, many of whom were profoundly deaf. Their showcase combining music and sign language was praised for its sensitivity.

A particularly shrewd move was the inclusion in the programme of two songs from Chess, the new Tim Rice musical which had its professional premiere in London just a few days earlier.

Denise Shawcross gave a compelling solo performance as Sweet Charity for Mossley AODS. In a complete change of mood she was quickly followed by Hyde Light Opera Company’s excerpts from The Music Man featuring The Cover Notes barber shop quartet. 

Dukinfield AODS revisited their production of the previous autumn Hans Andersen with an item featuring Barry Aspinall.

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