I've Finally Come Down From The Chandelier

What a night!

It’s not every day you get to take part in a touring production of a West End show. Unless you’re actually an actor in a touring production of a West End show, of course, but for the rest of us it’s not an opportunity that comes around often.

And what a show! The Choir of Man is an extraordinary work; a jukebox musical that doesn’t coast on the popularity of a single artist, it eschews narrative while somehow telling a moving story. Nine men come together in a pub to sing songs and support each other through life’s struggles. It’s full of humour and heart, and is easily the most fun I’ve had in a theatre in a very long time. It probably helps that the pub setting involves an actual working bar on stage, and audience members are invited to come up and get drinks before the show and during the interval. Not that it feels like an interval, because the cast join the punters and continue the performance. It almost feels more like a piece from the Edinburgh Fringe than the West End (probably because that’s where it started life). The cast are supremely talented, the songs feel fresh and the whole experience is unique. If you haven’t seen it yet, then you must.

I realise I’m probably preaching to the choir, though. Literally, in this case. I doubt I have many readers who aren’t members of Raise Your Voice Hebburn, and we don’t have many members who didn’t join us at Sunderland Empire for this incredible night. To those of you who were there, it was an honour to share the experience with you.

And for the few out there who don’t already know… on opening night at each stop on the tour, the Choir of Man invite local choirs to join them in an a cappella rendition of Chandelier, originally by Sia and one of the songs from the show. We were lucky to be selected from the many applicants, along with three other local choirs. We were given the rehearsal material ahead of time, and Becky had us well drilled going into the theatre. And what a sound we made! The standing ovation we got from the rest of the audience was richly deserved.

Afterwards I listened to every recording I could find, and I still can’t believe I was part of something so beautiful. It seems many people found it similarly moving; the recordings got onto social media, as these things do, and before long we were getting messages from people who were there and enjoyed it. And from people who weren’t – one video made its way onto a global Choir of Man forum and we’ve had praise from as far afield as Cleveland, Ohio! Then to top it all off, Affinity Radio picked up on the story and broadcast a recording of the performance. I imagine for newer members who weren’t around for the Christmas madness last year, being able to hear yourself on local radio must be especially exciting. Since we started we’ve had some memorable experiences, but for me nothing comes close to Tuesday night.

I was incredibly nervous going into the theatre that night; I rarely sing with the choir, and to do so in such a grand arena with the biggest audience we’ve ever had was daunting. But I was among friends, and there’s strength in numbers. An important theme of the show is finding your safe space, the importance of community and looking after your mental health by being part of something bigger than yourself. In the words of Clarence Odbody, AS2, “no man is a failure who has friends”. I’ve always seen myself as socially inept, a prickly individual who doesn’t play well with others. And yet by some quirk of fate, I’ve found myself at the heart of this amazing group of people, who give me the strength to do things that would have seemed impossible to me a year ago. I’ve laughed more, talked more and probably drank more in the last twelve months than at any point in the last 25 years. The Choir of Man preaches the power of music and friendship in healing a damaged soul. I’m the embodiment of that message. I’m grateful to the Choir of Man for giving me the opportunity to take part in such a special occasion, and to every member of Raise Your Voice Hebburn for giving me the strength to take it.