Musical puts Our Town, Calne, on the map (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Musical puts Our Town, Calne, on the map

3:00pm Friday 13th July 2012 in Calne By Tom Mooney

Calne celebrated a return to community theatre with a successful production of Our Town, a musical based on life in the town.

The performers played to packed audiences at the auditorium at John Bentley School on Saturday and Sunday.

Set at the bus stop outside the town hall, Our Town took the audience on a tour of Calne’s history.

Peter Grant, a former professional vocalist and now music teacher at the school, wrote the musical and was behind the production.

He was keen to bring a sense of community back to local theatre, while also celebrating the history of Calne.

As well as staff and students, various members of the local community were involved in producing and acting.

They included John Bentley head teacher Gordon Trafford, who played the station master.

He said: “It was incredible; every member of the cast brought something special, whether that be a beautiful voice, a moving performance, experience or expectation.

“It was a performance by our community, for our community.”

There was also a hog roast after each of the performances and Mr Grant said it was all such a success, he is already planning another production in the future.

He said: “It has been an unforgettable experience.

“The atmosphere on both Saturday and Sunday was electric and something that will live with me for a very long time.

“Our Town has hopefully whetted the appetite for community theatre as we are already considering a new project.”