Saturday 28 September saw the grand Final of this year’s Let Me Entertain You competition take place at the Octagon Theatre.
After 3 days of auditions and 2 incredibly high-standard Semi Finals, this year’s Final proved to be the toughest competition yet!
Opening the show was the Castaway Theatre Group who performed their much-loved Semi-Final song ‘Joyful Joyful’. Next Chloe Burton took to the stage with a haunting performance of ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables. Rebecca Pritchard continued on from her Semi-Final performance transforming from the innocent white swan into the menacing black swan for her Final routine. Robin and Amy proved a hit with their hilarious rendition of ‘Cubicle of Love’. Next came Marcus Sangiovanni’s big vocal performance of Michael Bublé’s ‘Cry Me A River’. Magician Atticus dazzled with his ‘bullet (or fish) catch’ routine – inducing laughs from the audience as a huge yellow balloon was rolled into the crowd to select his assistant. The ever-excited Jasmine Boniface then performed her fun-filled rendition of ‘Naughty’ from Matilda The Musical. Dressed in a vibrant blue air-hostess dress, Erin Darling-Finan, a finalist in the 2012 competition, delighted audiences with her performance of ‘Come Fly With Me’. To close Act 1 with a bang Rhi-act took to the stage with a high-octane, pumping hip-hop routine choreographed by Rhiannon Watkins to a mix of superhero themed tracks.
The Black Swan by Rebecca Prichard
Act 2 brought even more talent, opening with acrobatic gymnasts Acrofusion who performed incredible feats to a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ remix. Sophie Bruckel performed a great version of ‘If They Could See Me Now’ complete with fur coat and cane. Gracie Wickens-Sweet, aged just 9, then took to the stage to sing a lesser known Disney song, ‘Part of the Heart of the Sky’. Next appeared Jack and Louise dressed so fantastically it was impossible to miss what they were performing as they cartwheeled and danced, singing ‘Mongojerrie and Rumpleteazer’ from Cats. Niamh Fletcher performed next, singing and playing her own rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Songbird’. Following that it was Tac Pac’s turn to perform which they did with style, dancing to an upbeat mix of Jazz, Hip Hop and Commercial tracks. Another finalist from last year, Martha Vickery, then had her chance to perform with a moving rendition of ‘No One But You’. Dressed in gold, suitably for the Final, Aimee Lou performed an incredibly emotional contemporary dance routine to ‘Come What May’ from Moulin Rouge. Followed, last but by no means least, by Phily who sang and played piano to create her very own entirely unique ballad version of S Club 7’s ‘Reach For The Stars’. And so concluded a monumental Final!
Amy Lou dancing to “Come What May”
The array of talent was so outstanding that the judges – Adam Burgan, Arts and Entertainment Manager at the Octagon Theatre, Antonia Burt, of the Western Gazette and formerly of Sony BMG, and Emma Britton, of BBC Radio Somerset – found themselves in the near-impossible position of having to decide which acts would make the top five.
Whilst the audience votes were being calculated and added to the judges’ votes, Benjamin Tubridy, winner of Let Me Entertain You 2012, performed two beautiful songs on the Octagon Theatre’s brand new grand piano. This piano was bought using money raised by the Foyer Club Fundraising Committee through events and initiatives including Let Me Entertain You. Ben first performed his winning song from last year – a wonderful rendition of Christina Perri’s ‘Jar of Hearts’ – followed by ‘I Will Always Love You’.
Paul Hendy then returned to the stage to announce the acts who had made it into the top five…whilst everyone, judges, audience and acts alike held their breath. First to be announced was Castaway Theatre Group who responded with a deafening scream of delight from all 80 of their members. Next was Rebecca Pritchard, followed by Acrofusion (another huge scream), Martha Vickery and finally Philly.
After the other acts had left the stage places were announced: 5th was Castaway Theatre Group, 4th was Martha Vickery, and 3rd was Rebecca Pritchard. More applause led the announced acts off the stage to leave the final 2 acts waiting to hear if they had won the competition: just Philly and Acrofusion.
In an electric moment of excitement Paul announced the winners of Let Me Entertain You 2013 … Acrofusion! Applause and cheers erupted from the building as a row of waterfall pyrotechnics lit up the stage behind the celebrating victors. Philly, our fantastically talented runner-up left the stage with smiles and waves.
Acrofusion Winning Let Me Entertain You Final 2013
After being presented with their trophy and a cheque for £1,000, the acrobatic gymnastics troupe were asked to perform again. Their final performance ended this year’s competition, declaring it yet another phenomenal example of the sheer amount of outstanding talent we have here in Yeovil and the South West.
Acrofusion performing after Winning
We will be sure to let you know how much this year’s Let Me Entertain You competition has raised soon.
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