This one-off afternoon of music, staged as a fundraiser for The Niton Playbox’s next production, gave us a chance to relive the magic of their last two shows, and was a brilliant introduction to their talents for anyone who may have missed their work so far – I’m sure they won’t make the same mistake again. What a fabulous way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

The first half was dedicated to songs from ‘Smile’, which, with film from the original show and a new narrative delivered in true Charlie Chaplin style by Will Nixon, sketched the story of this heart-rending yet funny musical penned by Val Hayward and based on the story of her own grandmother’s friendship with the man who rose from the slums of London’s East End to become one of the most famous comedians and film stars of all time.

The original cast, in costumes from the original show, gave us cameos of their performances and a selection of the songs, many old London and music hall favourites, such as ‘Daisy, Daisy’, ‘Champagne Charlie’ and ‘Burlington Bertie’ but including a few newer numbers – Ellen Careless’s rendition of ‘Tallulah’ from Bugsy Malone was a highlight, as was Oliver Back singing the theme song ‘Smile’. Another great number was the medley of ‘If You Were The Only Girl in the World’ and ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’ beautifully sung and acted by Ellen, Oliver and George Sales. The chorus numbers were spot on, and I was absolutely delighted to see the inclusion of ‘Three Little Maids from School’ delivered by Oliver, George and Noah Walker-Green, all kitted out with kimonos and fans, squeezing every ounce of comedy value with winks and grins and clearly enjoying it just as much as the audience.

The second half turned its attention to this year’s ‘Run Rabbit Run’, written to commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II, and our narrators here were the brilliant team of Maisie Walker-Green and Polly Careless who played the central characters in the show. They led us through the story of two young girls who travel back to 1942 – and like ‘Smile’, the show doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to the horrors of war, yet the characters, the script and the songs also find the humour and life-affirming joy – and yes, there are some really funny moments.

I particularly enjoyed Will Nixon’s Captain Haddock and his ‘Barmy Army’ singing well known tunes of the day such as ‘It’s a Long Way to Tipperary’, while Katie Walker-Green’s plaintive ‘When They Sound the Last All-Clear’ brought tears to my eyes. The trio of Ellen Careless, Florence Fradgley and Emily Evans) provided perfect harmonies and wonderful choreography as nurses and the ‘Jingle Singers’, and in true keeping with the spirit of the show, the finale comprised the whole cast on stage leading a singalong. And every single performer on stage was brilliant, as attested to by the rapturous applause at the end, and the queue of people lining up to congratulate the cast afterwards.

Of course, a concert such as this could not go ahead without the musical directors and players, and the small space of Niton Village Hall was filled with the beautiful music of Rosie Hayward on keyboards and Tony Careless on guitar, joined in the second half by Miles Harvey’s fabulous trumpet playing and George Sales on drums. Not just accompanying the singers, the music added immeasurably to the atmosphere of the show right from the starting overture.

The audience were delighted to hear that The Niton Playbox is returning in December with ‘Manners and Masquerade’, to celebrate Jane Austen’s 250^th birthday…..and I for one cannot wait!!