Fiddler on Roof is a triumph fundraising for refugees

Ray Dance and Judith Sharp scored another notable triumph with Fiddler on the Roof, staged by a company of two dozen talented performers at the Arts Centre in Old Town, Swindon, from July 12-16.

The show, with dynamic direction by Russell Langdown and Sandra Gilbert, combines superb entertainment with the bonus of raising funds for charity – this time the Harbour Project that offers friendship, advice and hope to refugees and asylum seekers across the Swindon area.

Set in 1905 at Anatevka, a village in Imperial Russia, on the eve of the revolutionary period, this production benefits from a simple, effective set, excellent costume and props and accomplished instrumentalists and singers. The cast includes all ages, including children, whose confident performances augur well for the future.

Well-loved musical numbers. include Tradition, Matchmaker, If I Were A Rich Man and Sunrise, Sunset, to name but a few. The Jewish community, with Ray Dance as Tevye, the dairyman and Judith Sharp as his wife Golde, have to contend with changing social attitudes, and their daughters' dreams of marrying for love, rather than at the decree of the traditional Matchmaker.

Felicity Coster as Tzeitel, the eldest girl, coaxes her parents' approval of her choice of husband – and so tradition is gradually eroded in favour of progress. But liberation involves political change, and there are moves to expel the Jewish villagers from their homes and livelihoods.

This brilliant production has a powerfully poignant finale, as the dispossessed exit sadly, through the auditorium, rather than taking a traditional curtain call. There is no weak link in this memorable show.