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West End Has Faith comes to Norfolk 

A group which unites Christian professionals in showbiz brought the energy, harmony and emotion of the West End to churches in Dereham and Aylsham.

Performers Katy Treharne and David Birch had founded West End Has Faith to share Jesus and to nurture a Christian community among professionals in theatre, music and dance. On August 12 and 13 four talented members of the group brought a slice of the West End to parish churches of Dereham and Aylsham, performing excerpts from shows including Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music.
 
The four served an abundant feast of entertainment, displaying technical musical ability, acting skills, and a huge range both in mood and in pitch, from romantic to exuberant and from a cavernous low F to a high F which would have woken up any audition panel. They related to the audience and to each other in a very natural way, moving smoothly between spontaneous interaction and their polished showbiz roles. 
 
DominicRye750Dominic Rye from Norwich put on show one of his audition pieces, performing at astonishing speed on the accordion and bewitching the audience with a Celtic lilt on the penny whistle. It was only a small sample of his musical range, as alongside singing he also plays the piano, guitar, mandolin, ukulele and bagpipes. This summer Dominic took the part of Jesus in the Gatton Theatre passion play in Surrey: it was, he shared, a challenge to interpret a character who many people in the audience knew personally.

"The beauty of West End Has Faith is connecting Christian performers with each other,” said Dominic. “We encourage each other and share advice. It’s always comforting to be reminded that our worth is defined by God, not by the success (or otherwise) of auditions, especially in such a precarious industry.”

Katy Treharne from Wales studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama went straight from graduation to being understudy for Christine, a leading role in The Phantom of the Opera. She progressed to alternating the role of Christine but developed stage fright due to criticism of her performance at rehearsals and a lack of encouragement. Out of the struggle of a throat seizing up on stage West End Has Faith was born, and Katy went on to successfully perform many other musical roles. One of them was that of Mary, the mother of Jesus in Love Beyond, a musical rendition of the Bible.
 
Love Beyond played to an audience of 9,000 at the Wembley Arena and it was the dream of the Norfolk intercessor Mark Sutcliffe to bring the show to Norwich. He devoted much of the final years of his life praying for and encouraging the largely Christian performers, and it was a fulfilment of a kind to have the title track sung in Dereham and Aylsham by two of the original cast, Katy Treharne and Hannah Grace.
 
Hannah Grace had undergone a challenging period after graduating from the Arts Educational Schools in London. In the first year following she went to many auditions but won no parts and had to wrestle through to the point of believing that she was ultimately performing for God, who would open the doors He chose. Her faith and dazzling musical ability eventually won the day and she went on the notch up parts in many shows, including Love Beyond. She shared what a great support West End Has Faith had been to her, as a performer who often seemed to be the only Christian in a dark context, and where colleagues were sometimes struggling to find an identity.

KatrinaMarkham750Katrina Markham, at 22 the youngest of the four, made herself vulnerable in sharing how she had battled with obsessive compulsive disorder from the age of 12, though you would never have guessed it from her effervescent character and the strength and confidence with which she sang. She managed to complete her studies during the pandemic, performing pieces to the computer camera over Zoom, and as a Christian witness in the theatre world lights up with a joy which must give her clubbing colleagues something to envy.

"I graduated from drama school just over a year ago and joined West End Has Faith soon after," said Katrina. "We have regular meetings on Zoom as well as in-person meet ups where we worship and pray together, learn about God’s word and support each other. They have been a huge help to me as someone who is new to working and seeking work in the industry. Doing the concerts is such a massive blessing because we get to share our love for musical theatre while celebrating and sharing how God has given us a hope beyond all measure and how vast his love is for each individual person he has created. A performing career can come with its challenges and being connected to Christians who are on a similar path has been invaluable and helps me to stay rooted in God’s truth and love."
 
Jane Everard, who with her husband Kevin leads Swanton Abbot Community Chapel, provided accompaniment on the keyboard was instrumental in bringing the group to Norfolk. If you would like to learn more about West End Has Faith, there is information on their website www.westendhasfaith.com
 
Pictured above are (left to right), Jane Everard, Dominic Rye, Katy Treharne, Hannah Grace and Katrina Markham. Centre are Dominic Rye and Katrina Markham and below is a duet from Katy Treharne (left) and Hannah Grace (right). Images of performance: Jenine Rye.

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Eldred Willey, 15/08/2022

Eldred Willey
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