Volunteers from around the country are gathering in Chorley this week to make final preparations for a Victorian musical celebrating the history of the Mormon faith in the UK and Ireland. The cast and crew have been preparing for months, for two weeks of performances starting next week.
“We are one week from opening the Pageant and everyone’s just coming into town today. We are excited to get to work on these dances that have never been performed with an audience on two sides,” says choreographer Melanie Cartwright, referring to a new stage design.
The British Pageant, a musical experience that tells the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on this side of the Atlantic, was first produced in 2013 and returns to the United Kingdom next week.
As cast and crew arrive in Chorley to finalise Pageant preparations, their excitement to share their talents is building. “It’s the final week of rehearsals, things are going really well. It’s been really good to actually be able to go into the Pageant theatre and see the space and then discover how we are going to play out the scenes in the space as well. It’s also really exciting how close the audience will be,” says Darren Evans, who will play three different roles in the production.
The British Pageant will be performed 1-5 and 8-12 August 2017 and is free to the public. Visit www.ldsbritishpageant.co.uk for more details.