The South London Cares Variety Show!

Please note: this post is 25 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only

During South London Cares 'Catch Me in The Rye' walking social club in Peckham earlier in the year, older neighbour Bill - also known as ‘the Stevie Wonder of Lambeth’ – had a brilliant idea: how about a social club where neighbours could showcase their talents?

Now, one of the things we try to do here at South London Cares is to take the ideas of our neighbours and bring them to life, so that’s exactly what we did and South London Cares Variety Show was born.

We trialled our first Variety Show in June and held a second one in October. This club gave our neighbours the chance to showcase their talents and an opportunity to be more involved in running a club for others to enjoy. These are the exceptional performances we’ve seen so far...

Comedy

Older neighbour and funnyman Brian recited a few of his rib ticklers at our first show. At one point he produced a water tap attached to a rope which he swung around as he danced. And there you have it: tap dancing. Older neighbour Mike also told a few jokes at our second show, making a few neighbours howl at some of his anecdotes.

Poetry

Older neighbour Diona read us one of her lovely poems at the first variety show, and older neighbour Tony also sent us some poems to recite at the second club, even though unfortunately he couldn’t make it.

Live Music

Older neighbour Bill performed solo on both variety nights, singing a rendition of the Neighbours theme tune amongst other well-known classics. He also played as a part of his double act Smooth Velvet ,with him on the keyboard and backing vocals, and Diona as lead singer.

As well as hosting the show, South London Cares' very own Dupé performed a couple of original songs and a cover of A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke followed by a special guest performance by musician Millia De Leon.

We also had an acapella performance by older neighbour Carol – aka Lady Bling – who left the microphone on stage and belted out songs including Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra.

Dance

At both variety shows older neighbour Addy performed dance pieces which involved visually stunning costumes and masks. The first was an African inspired dance while the second was an improvised dance.

We also had a brand new neighbour, Judith, blow us away with two brain-frazzling illusions using nothing but paper and a pair of scissors.

So if, like Judith, you'd like to step up on stage and show us your talent, let the team know, and hopefully we'll see you at the next variety show.