Children from Archbishop Holgate’s School, in York, will join the Pop Goes The 80s cast on the Grand Opera House stage on Saturday to perform Belinda Carlisle’s 1987 chart topper Heaven Is A Place On Earth.
“Having the children with us is very special,” says Sheena Beckett, who stars in the nostalgic show with husband Allan, her co-producer.
“It gives the children the chance to take to the stage, perhaps for the very first time, and you never know what that may spark in them. I was four when I first appeared in panto and knew from that moment I was hooked.”
Pop Goes The 80s features more than two hours of Eighties’ hits, spanning the birth of electro pop, the flamboyance of the New Romantics and the age of soft rock.
“Audiences will love reliving the golden age of Footloose, Thriller and Fame, even if they would prefer to forget Eighties’ fashions like leg warmers and mullets,” says Sheena.
Material Girl, Gold, Livin’ On A Prayer, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun will be among the numbers performed by a cast of West End singers and dancers, accompanied by a band on the stage.
“The fun extends to a ‘cheesetastic’ host, who appears on a giant video wall in a no-expense-spared production with some breathtaking choreography and a dynamic cast,” says Sheena. “We’re loving every minute of it and so will the York audience.”
“We’ve worked very hard to re-create what the original artists did so well in the Eighties,” says Allan.
“We’ve lots of lavish costumes and some of the changes are very quick indeed,” adds Sheena. “Changing from Madonna into Kim Wilde and then Toni Basil is no mean feat.”
Blackpool-born Sheena has spent the past couple of years playing both Agnetha and Frida in Voulez Vous – ABBA The Story, and she has appeared as Doris Day and Vera Lynn at theatres across Britain. Musician Allan has toured Europe and the United States with Def Leppard, Girls Aloud and The Sugababes.
Tickets for Saturday’s 7.30pm show cost £16.50 on 0844 8472322 or online at www.grandoperahouseyork.org.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here