Book West End singers to perform literally on your doorstep!

West End singers Matthew Goodgame & The Spinettes might not be able to tour the venues this Christmas.
Matthew Goodgame & The SpinettesMatthew Goodgame & The Spinettes
Matthew Goodgame & The Spinettes

But they are still hitting the road – and happy to turn up right on your doorstep.

In difficult times, Matthew – based in Maidenbower, Crawley – has come up with an innovative way to spread the Christmas magic – a new experience which they are calling WestEnd Carolling.

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Matthew and the girls are offering 15-minute performances. Book a slot and enjoy Matthew and the team socially-distanced from your own home.

Between them, the quartet have graced the stage in shows including Cats, Chicago, 42nd Street, Singing In The Rain, Wicked, Starlight Express, Matilda, Annie and many more – experience they will distil for Christmas entertainment with a difference.

Allowing themselves 15 minutes to get between doorstep bookings, they will offer seven performances between 6 and 9pm on weekdays and 12 weekend performances between 2 and 9pm. Just book your slot.

The tour takes in: December 10 – Handcross; December 12 – Godalming; December 13 – Lindfield; December 14 – Horsham; December 15 – Balcombe; December 17 – Cuckfield; December 18 – Crawley; December 19 – Salfords; December 20 – Lindfield; December 21 – Crawley; December 22 – Charlwood; and December 23 – Horsham.

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It will brighten up the last few weeks of a year which has, inevitably, been hugely difficult.

“Our world was turned upside down. The carpet was swiped from right under our feet, like it was for everyone, but particularly for people in the performing arts and hospitality. It was a really tough time. We could see the pandemic coming all the way from China, but we could never have thought that it was going to happen to this extent. It didn’t take us by surprise, but the scale of it did.

“We had lots of things lined up. I had just finished my paternity leave and I was starting to audition for things when the pandemic happened and everything stopped. We had to postpone shows for three months and then three months became six months and then things were being cancelled altogether. Luckily some things have been rebooked for next year, but you just never know.”

And of course, it isn’t just the performers who found themselves out of work. It was the huge numbers of people behind the scenes that make the shows happen: “But the good thing about performers in our industry is that everyone is very malleable and adaptable and they have been finding ways to get from one moment to the next.

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“Personally, it was really tough. I had a couple of nice jobs so I had a bit of money in my account, but when all your work for the year gets cancelled and you have still got the mortgage to pay and all the bills coming in, it is worrying. You have just got to try to think outside the box.”

And that’s what WestEnd Carolling is all about: “Everyone wants a bit of human contact, and music is just such a big part of all our lives. You hear it everywhere, TV, films, advertising, and so many people are looking forward to Christmas as such a special time. This is our way of adapting. We just thought it would be lovely if we could offer WestEnd Carolling on your doorstep.”

Matthew stresses all precautions will be taken; neighbours will be able to listen too, but Matthew and his fellow singers will ensure that distances are kept and that gatherings don’t form.

“We will perform for 15 minutes. That’s quite enough for anybody to be standing on their doorstep! It might be the smallest tour in the history of touring, but it is something that we have managed to put together. We were going to start in early December, but then when the second lockdown came, we cancelled the first few dates and then left a bit of a buffer before we actually started because obviously we just didn’t know what was going to be allowed.”

£40 per 15-minute performance; email [email protected]; www.thespinettes.co.uk

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