Charmed by Ivor Novello

Filling the plush
Many people came along to the Old Buckenham village hall to hear all about ‘The charm of Ivor Novello’ on Saturday 19 November. There was room for many more and it is a shame that that they didn’t bestir themselves as they missed a great evening’s entertainment.
Ivor Novello could be considered as the Andrew Lloyd Webber of the 1930s, 1940s and the early 1950s. He wrote the music for all of his shows and often the lyrics as well. The productions played to full houses and made Novello a rich man. He believed in “filling the plush” which in today’s language meant getting bums on seats.
The evening was narrated by John and June Garratt who told the story of Novello’s life in words written by Richard Crawley. The narration was interspersed by performances of songs from the shows energetically sung by Susie Turner along to Annette Jude’s accompaniment. The performers were suitably dressed for the time of the songs’ popularity with Susie Turner changing dresses when appropriate. The audience were allowed to join in at times singing the choruses of ’Keep the home fires burning’ and ‘We’ll gather lilacs in the Spring again’.
The event was organised to help raise funds towards the Old Buckenham village hall lighting improvements which are expected to start in early 2012. Many people were involved in setting up the evening with the Old Buckenham Players providing the front of house staff and the Old Buckenham Women’s Institute supplying the homemade cakes that were much appreciated during the interval.
Next time such an event is put on let’s hope more village people can be convinced that they can forgo their tv programmes (they can always be recorded and watched later), come out to see a live performance and ‘fill the plush’ in the village hall.