Rutland Variety Performance: A moving and magical night of local talent in memory of Oakham fundraiser
Oakham Nub News were honoured to attend the first Lorna's Legacy Rutland Variety Show on the evening of 23rd July.
The whole evening was a fundraiser for small children's cancer charity Supershoes in memory of Lorna Grey, a dedicated life-long fundraiser from Oakham that spent her life raising money for causes important to her.
The evening was hosted in the theatre at Oakham School, with an opening hour in the courtyard with immersive entertainment and refreshments from local businesses.
Otter's Fine Foods and Ovation Wine served food and drink while performers entertained arriving guests. Sing Out Rutland performed their African Dream repertoire while Leicester magician Sean Curtis pulled off some brilliant up-close magic tricks.
Looking up, Nyx Arielle walked high above guests on her stilts, performing again later in the night dancing with fire.
At 7pm, guests were ushered into the theatre for the show to begin. It opened with an introduction from hosts Rutland and Stamford Sounds' Rob Persani and Royal Correspondent Caroline Aston. This duo compared the whole evening, providing charming anecdotes and commentary on the acts performing.
Then followed a speech by Sarah White from Supershoes. She made a moving speech about Lorna Grey and the work of the charity. Sarah described Lorna as 'a beautiful and inspirational lady' that she knew very well first hand.
'Lorna witnessed first-hand the power of a pair of Supershoes.'
Supershoes is a small charity that work with a network of volunteer artists to create beautiful custom 'supershoes' for children struggling in their battle with cancer. The gift of a pair of supershoes gives these children going through a very dark time something bright and joyful to boost their confidence and sense of self as well as encourage movement and mobility.
Lorna dedicated her life to raising money for causes important to her. From the age of 11, she lived with the complications of type of diabetes. Despite suffering from a brain haemorrhage in 2024, she still bungee jumped, abseiled and ziplined to raise money for brilliant local causes.
Lorna's Legacy was set up by her husband Allan after she passed away in April 2024 and hopes to keep her memory alive by continuing her fundraising efforts. Allan said the whole night was only possible with the help of Diahann Berridge , Allan and Lorna's two daughters Hanna and Lucy and neighbours Liz and Wes and Mark.
The variety show kicked off with a performance by local favourites The D'Ukes of Rutland playing a cheerful selection of tunes on the ukulele.
Following the D'Ukes, music student Rachelle Bamber performed Bless This Show and Where the Lost Things Go with incredible vocals and a flute solo.
The JT Jazettes Oakham then did their first of two dances of the night. The group was set up by Diahann Berridge, bringing together people with no previous experience of dancing.
Melton-based Darren Hall performed hits by George Ezra, Snow Patrol and Elton John with his incredible vocals accompanied by the guitar. He has recently taken the plunge to pursue his music full time and can he spotted travelling around the county performing his own music and hits from favourite artists.
A personal highlight of the night was the performance by Rutland Dance Association Dads, who formed in 2019 to support the CALM campaign and have continued dancing together since at RYDA's Showcases and Spotlight events.
To watch a snippet of their dance, click here to see the video.
Sophie's Voice recently performed as lead soprano in The Sorcerer Opera in Buxton.
Then followed an intermission with some acapella from Sing Out Rutland.
The second half kicked off by Rutland Voices Choir, conducted by Peter Davis. The 35 singers performed a selection of songs including Here Comes the Sun and Lovely Day. This was their third ever performance and members included women in their 20s to 80s.
Mishap Theatre performed a clowning routine, generating laughs from the packed audience with their physical comedy.
Next, Nyx Arielle put her stilts from earlier in the evening away and did a breath-taking fire performance set to music. For a video of part of her performance, click here (however crazy it looks on video, it was crazier in person).
Before the final act, the Lorna's Legacy team got on stage to thank people for their contributions and support of the evening, with Allan (second from left) paying a moving tribute to Lorna and the team that have carried on her legacy.
The final performance of the night was by Rutland favourites The Houndogs with five songs bursting with energy and showmanship with their take on classic hits.
You can watch some of the stunts in their performance in this video, including but not limited to settling part of the drumkit on fire, playing the drums lying down and standing on the double bass while still playing it.
This act had the crowd on their feet, singing and dancing and the night ended with a full standing ovation for the brilliant performers and organisers for putting together an incredible showcase of the heart and soul of Rutland for a very worthy cause.
To keep up to date with else Lorna's Legacy are up to, check out their Facebook page.
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