Arts&Culture
Stephen Adnitt has been the
costume designer for Thursford Christmas Spectacular since 2013, working alongside a team of milliners and costume makers. “Personally I love the whole feeling of the show and of course its glamour - lots of sparkle,” Stephen said. “It is so good to be able to create those wonderful glamorous images on stage that evoke Christmas.” The show has a range of traditional and modern sections that allow Stephen to design a large variety of costumes. He said the show, which features more than 110 dancers, singers and musicians, is amazing and glamorous. There are so many costume changes, it is hard to keep track of how many flash across the stage. Countless sequins and sparkles, hats and hemlines and, of course, quick changes. Stephen said he has so many wonderful memories of working on the how and can’t wait to continue into the next season. “I feel audiences are overwhelmed when they see the show as I was when I first saw it before working on it,” Stephen said.
Natalie Davis performs as a dancer in the show, as well as leading 22 other dancers in the role of dance captain. This is her eleventh season at Thursford, and this year she is a ‘swing’ dancer as well, covering 18 dance tracks. “There is so much variety in the show,” Natalie said. “As dancers we get trained in so many different styles, from showgirl, to cancan to Irish and we even join the singers for some vocals!” Being able to perform so many different styles of dance all in one show is one of Natalie’s favourite aspects of the show. She also loves being able to leave the stage and dance amongst the audience. The team behind the show is a big, diverse community that all come together to create a special show. “Everyone comes from different places, even internationally, have built different careers and have a multitude of talents that all come together for the show,” Natalie said.
The dancers begin training and rehearsals in September. Rehearsing onsite in what Natalie nicknamed, “the shed,” plants Christmas spirit long before the season begins. Due to an intense show, the dancers are constantly stretching and keeping warm, and are scheduled for extra training with the creative team, to prevent injury. After the Thursford season, Natalie will first spend Christmas with her family, before heading back to London where she works as a freelance dancer, choreographer and photographer. She said she is very grateful and excited to see the industry start up again. For first-time viewers of the show, Natalie had some advice: “This is a show unlike any other, filled with more than I can say...there's something for everyone and more! Arrive early as there is so much to see before the show even begins.” “Oh and Christmas jumpers are most definitely welcome! We love spotting them in the audience!”
Thursford in numbers 4200 lateral flow tests taken since rehearsals started. 12 nationalities are represented in the cast. Up to 50
coaches travel to Thursford every day.
More than 110 performers take the
stage at Thursford.
101,000 of a possible
110,000
tickets have been sold so far... and the rest are selling fast.
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