Copacabana was a huge hit with everyone, the crowd was literally dancing in their seats and smiles all around!

 

Elaine from Beyond Books reviewed the show and said this;

 

“Lola is played convincingly by Lillie Marie Hawkes, she’s feisty and self assured in the role and has great comedic moments. Gladys the ex-copa girl , played superbly by Rhia Cherin, takes Lola under her wing. While giving her advice on the benefits of being a copa girl, Tony (the enthusiastic Dominic Birch) is mooning all over Lola.

 

The ensemble cast pull the whole thing together with some great dance numbers from the showgirls, with the addition of the waitress girls pulled in to make a bigger chorus. These girls were utilised brilliantly into other bit parts, and while none had a big individual role to play, had more costume changes and stage time than anyone else!

 

Tommy Robinson as Rico was the perfect slime ball and Mariana Sardo did a great job as Rico’s fading flame and Havana Club’s star turn Conchita. Over all, what the show lacked in polish, it made up for in talent and enthusiasm. And of course, the finale was full of fun with the entire cast singing the titular song, Copacabana”.

The students have also been busy fundraising over the last few months and with all the profit from producing the show going to support local sight loss charity – 4 Sight Vision Support, they are excited to be handing over £7702 from ticket sales and all the fundraising they have been doing.

 

The students have organised a multitude of fundraising events, such as a Quiz night, raffle, Film night, Karoke and they even took to Homebase, Chichester in January to do a collection and ensemble performance. The charity put on a ‘Sausage Sizzle’ event at the same time selling hotdogs to customers (an event Homebase frequently put on for charities).

The students sang a few Musical Theatre and pop songs to showcase their talent and brighten up shoppers’ days creating a bubbly atmosphere whilst the weather was grey and drizzly. They sang some of the show’s songs to raise awareness for the show and start conversation with customers. They saw a spike in ticket sales and raised a total of £208.77 at this event.

The University of Chichester, home to the world’s first degree in fundraising, Charity Development BA (Hons.), offers students a unique opportunity to learn the skills needed by successful fundraisers, such as marketing, planning, event management and public speaking.  The course is accredited by the Institute of Fundraising.  Donna Day Lafferty, the course founder explained that,

“The intention is to expose students to as much best practice and real-life fundraising as possible”

 

In addition to all the events and community fundraising, the students have submitted 18 grant applications to Charitable Foundations, Module Coordinator Jane Galloway indicated,

“we only need a couple of these applications to be successful for us to reach the £20,200 target, I have all my fingers and toes crossed”.

 

Would your School, College, University or community group like to organise an event for 4Sight Vision Support?