At the time of writing the Players were about to start their three night run of Calendar Girls.

The whole cast thoroughly enjoyed the whole rehearsal process and were delighted that each night was a sell out. Raising money for the Butterwick Hospital, this play brought laughter and tears and thanks must go to director Sarah Atkinson for bringing it to life.

With thanks to Dress Circle for the set and props, the Ladies of the WI for providing some of the flowers, Adam, Richard and Lucy for tech support and Millie, Amy, Kelsey and Emily for their fabulous help backstage.

Just as Calendar Girls is put to bed, so the process starts again for the June production. This year the group will be performing Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov.

The play portrays the visit of an elderly professor and his glamorous, much younger second wife, Yelena, to the rural estate that supports their urban lifestyle.

Matters are brought to a crisis when the professor announces his intention to sell the estate, with a view to investing the proceeds to achieve a higher income for himself and his wife.

2024 is our 50th Anniversary year, an impressive feat for a community choir. It’s been a busy start to the year, and exciting things are already afoot. North-East film maker, Carl Joice has been capturing the essence of what makes us a great bunch of people to sing and spend time with.

He is creating a documentary not just about the music, but us merry musical Sedgefield folks too. We can hardly wait to see just what he’s uncovered about us all!

Local composer Bridie Jackson ran three writing workshops to gather ideas and inspiration for the lyrics to a piece commissioned just for our Anniversary. We have already begun to rehearse it and it sounds magnificent!

Make sure you’re there for its premiere at our Summer Concert in June. With a change of venue to the acoustically-fabulous, St. Edmund’s Church, our summer performances promise to be something suitably special to celebrate our 50th year.

Whilst it would be easy to overlook the bunch of people who love to get together to sing. We are delighted to award Honorary Life Membership to our own, talented and rather special soprano, Kay Marsland, for dedication above and far beyond the norm.

As a child, Kay supported all the choir’s activities. Now, as a talented soprano, Kay encourages everyone to be more confident, always has a word of welcome and sings with passion, skill and beauty. A founder-member of Lirica, she continues to delight with her talents across our choral family.

Congratulations, Kay on receiving your Honorary Life Membership, it is thoroughly deserved.

The Great Carrot Hunt Trail, Hardwick Park
An opportunity for kids and adults to celebrate the arrival of Easter and (hopefully) some better weather over the holidays in the beautiful setting of Hardwick Park.
28 March to 14 April, £1.