Reviewed by Sophie Ross
On Sunday night, Giggin4Good held their tenth charity concert at the Actors Church, Covent Garden. Produced by Emma Howe, Hayley Guild and Karen Howe with the help of Nathan Lodge and Jordan Langford, they set out to raise money for the Soi Dog Foundation (in which Nathan and Jordan had visited earlier in the year). The evening hosted by Benjamin-Vivan Jones, featured a line-up filled with West End stars, a raffle with great prizes and a set-list of dreams. It really was one not to be missed.
Featured performers from the night included Christine Allado, Andrew Bateup, Adam Bayjou, Luke Bayer, Danny Colligan, Nicole Faraday, Harry Francis, Luke George, James Gillan, Chlöe Hart, Houston Girlband (Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull, Charlotte Steele), Danielle Irvine, Jordan Langford, Nathan Lodge, Robert McNeilly, The MTA, Mikaela Newton, Daisy Steere, Savannah Stevenson, Benjamin Vivian-Jones and Emma Williams. The setlist included such a variation of songs from Dear Evan Hansen to Moana to Hamilton and it was great to see the West End get together to support such a fabulous cause. Equally it was great to see them away from their shows, singing songs from others. Highlights for us were both Savannah Stevenson and Emma Williams solo numbers, the MTA and the group performance of Waving Through A Window. Needless to say, everyone performed incredibly and the talent in the room was off the scale.
What made the evening extra special was the amount of people that had came to support. The church was filled to the brim with budding theatre goers, friends and family and the Soi Dog’s founder, John Dally. Joking that he actually wasn’t over from Thailand just for this event but feeling appreciative that it feel within the same dates of his travel, John took to the stage to say a few words about the hard work the foundation does. An avid Theatre lover himself, he spoke of his wife Gillian who sadly passed away earlier in the year and their passion for the arts. One of the duets in the evening Miss Saigon “Last night of the world” sung beautifully by Savannah Stevenson and Adam Bayjou was a special tribute to Gillian as it was from her favourite musical and one the pair had seen many times.
The evening also paid tribute to the Manchester attack by having a one minute applause to honour the victims and their families. That was a particularly special moment to be apart of and felt nice to applaud rather than have a moment of silence.
It really was a fun evening, filled with so much love and light. Whenever you attend an evening that recognises and appreciates the work of a cause, it really does feel so great to be apart of. Huge congratulations to the Giggin4Good team alongside both Nathan and Jordan for putting together something so special and one that we were happy we could attend.
To see the pictures from the night, click here: https://www.giggin4good.nikkilewisphotos.co.uk/
Follow Giggin4Good here: https://twitter.com/Giggin4Good
The Theatre Hub 