Archives: Events

Dr Ranj is best known for being a NHS doctor and resident medic on ITV’s This Morning. Ranj is also a television presenter, best-selling author, columnist and now for one night only, a West End star!

Dr Ranj recently performed on ITV’s All Star Musicals and stunned the audiences and judges alike with his vocal prowess. Now he will tread the boards with his own show Scrubs to Sparkles, with special appearances from some celebrity friends. Names announced so far include: Janette Manrara (BBC Strictly Come Dancing), Faye Tozer (Steps) and Jenny Ryan (ITV The Chase) with more to come!

Scrubs to Sparkles will be presented by TV’s Gethin Jones (BBC Morning Live). It will feature stories from Ranj’s life punctuated by well-known songs, accompanied by a live on stage band. Expect a few surprise duets from some famous faces too! The night is in aid of the Make A Difference Trust theatre fund, supporting professionals in the theatre industry who have been impacted by the COVID pandemic.

I Dare You Limited Edition CD with Poster  &  I Dare You T-Shirt

Created to mark the one year anniversary of the day the West End Theatres went dark, this stunning CD and poster package is limited to 200 copies. Each poster is numbered, and the CD features the incredible new arrangement of I Dare You. Bringing the indomitable spirit of the West End together in one glorious celebration, it includes every musical that was open in the West End when the theatres went dark. The song was first played on Radio 2 on the Zoe Ball breakfast show on Tuesday 16th March.

•  You can buy the song digitally at https://slinky.to/IDareYou

   Available on Spotify, Apple music, Amazon, Deezer etc

Produced and Mixed by Steve Anderson for 365 Artists

Written by Natalie Henby, Ben West, Jeff Gitelman, Jesse Shatkin, Laura Veltz
Arranged by Will Sharma
Video Design by Bruno Collins
Creative Director David Grewcock

I DARE YOU
“You may not have the stage, but you still have a voice.”

Bringing the indomitable spirit of the West End together in one glorious celebration, over 200 members of the theatre community have been a part of this unique cover of the Kelly Clarkson hit track, including every musical that was open in the West End when the theatres went dark.

The stunning song will be available to download and stream from 16 March 2021 but you can PRE-SAVE THE SINGLE NOW! https://slinky.to/IDareYou 

 

Produced by Steve Anderson, best known for his work with Kylie Minogue, Westlife, Steps and Leona Lewis, the unique track is paired with a truly one-off music video that can be viewed on our YouTube channel from 9am on Tuesday 16 March.

We are thrilled to have the support of so many incredible West End talents, singing together for the very first time: Amie Atkinson, Samantha Barks, Sharon D Clarke, Kerry Ellis, Shaun Escoffery, Shanay Holmes, Francesca Jackson, Cassidy Janson, Aisha Jawando, Tosh Wanogho-Maud, Jamie Muscato, Eva Noblezada, Natalie Paris, Jay Perry, Louise Redknapp, Oliver Tompsett, Faye Tozer, Sally Ann Triplett, Rachel Tucker, Marisha Wallace and Layton Williams.

The track features performers from: 9 to 5, &Juliet, Back to the Future, The Book of Mormon, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hanson, Disney’s The Lion King, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Frozen, Hairspray, Hamilton, Hello Dolly, Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, Matilda the Musical, Les Misérables, Only Fools and Horses the Musical, The Phantom of the Opera, The Prince of Egypt, Pretty Woman, Six, Thriller Live, Tina Waitress and Wicked.

All proceeds from this event will go directly to the the Make A Difference Trust Covid 19 Emergency Relief Fund to support those on stage and behind the scenes who are experiencing financial hardship while theatres are closed.

Produced and Mixed by Steve Anderson for 365 Artists

Written by Natalie Henby, Ben West, Jeff Gitelman, Jesse Shatkin, Laura Veltz.

Arranged by Will Sharma

Video Design by Bruno Collins

Creative Director David Grewcock

 

To see if you qualify for a grant from the Make A Difference Trust Covid 19 Emergency Relief Fund, please visit https://madtrust.org.uk/covid-help

Denise Van Outen To Release “On My Own’ Single In Aid Of The Make A Difference Trust

‘On My Own’ Will Be Released Wednesday February 10th

Singer, actress and West End star Denise Van Outen will release a charity single this month in aid of the Make A Difference Trust, raising money for theatre professionals who are currently out of work due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The single is a beautiful cover of ‘On My Own’ from the musical Les Miserables, produced by legendary pop producer Steve Anderson (Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears).

Denise says: “This song is what I was going to sing live on Dancing on Ice on musicals week. So, when I had to drop out of the show due to injury, I decided to release my own version to help raise money for theatre professionals who are out of work. I want to release this single to not only support the arts, but also celebrate them and highlight how difficult it has been for the industry during the pandemic.

Lots of my family and friends work backstage at theatres, so I’ve seen first-hand how devastating the last year has been, and how little support they’ve received. I recorded my vocals at home in my spare room, and Steve then produced the track. Les Miserables is the first ever West End musical I performed in when I was just 11 years old, so this song has always been very special to me.”

Melanie Tranter, Chair of the Make a Difference Trust said: “Since the Make A Difference Trust was established in 2008 the theatre community have joined together with us to raise funds for those less fortunate than themselves. They have entertained us, made us laugh and cheer, sing and stamp our feet in evenings of pure joy. They have given their time, talent and love so generously to raise funds to support those in need. Now, it’s our turn to support them. Every penny received from this initiative will go directly to theatre professionals in the UK who are affected by the theatre closures as a result of this crisis. We will work tirelessly to ensure grants are paid swiftly, and directly to those in need.”

If you’d like to be one of the first to hear the song, here’s a link to pre-order/pre-save the song on Amazon, iTunes or Spotify: https://slinky.to/DVOOnMyOwn

 

A West End Christmas 2020

Now Available to watch the full show for FREE

RIGHT HERE or on YouTube madtrustTV 

 

Put on your sparkles, your reindeer Christmas jumper, switch on the Christmas tree lights and settle down for an evening of festive fun and music. A West End Christmas 2020 – A Magical Christmas was filmed at St Paul’s Covent Garden

With the prospect of a very different family Christmas this year, the Make A Difference Trust have decided that our festive show must go on! For the last 17 years, A West End Christmas has been the highlight of the Christmas calendar for the theatre community and its loyal audiences. The one-night-only sold out show has heralded the start of Christmas in a way only the West End can.

And this year the show will indeed go on, with stars and companies of the West End joining together once more for a very special recorded show. St Paul’s Church in London’s Covent Garden will again be transformed into a world of magic and joy, the Christmas of all our dreams.

Featuring West End stars from “The Phantom of the Opera”, “Only Fools and Horses”, “Wicked”, “Come From Away” as well as the West End Kids, and with special guest performances from Tom Allen, Samantha Bond, Kerry Ellis, Clive Rowe, Oliver Tompsett, Marisha Wallace and Robin Windsor & Anya Garnis and many more.

Normally, a West End Christmas would raise funds for those living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. This year, the charity has revived and repurposed their hardship fund into the Covid-19 Emergency Fund, to help the theatre community directly, by providing Emergency Hardship Grants for those on stage and off who are struggling financially due to theatre closures and the monies raised will go to the Emergency fund as well as to fund HIV work.

If the full show is not playing correctly on this page, you can also watch it here: madtrustTV

WEST END BARES – TURNED ON

Premieres on Sunday 10 January 2021 at 8pm GMT

Stream it whenever you want, as many times as you want to watch it
within a 24-hour period for just £5 

Click on the PLAY button to see the Trailer
Click on the hexagonal Pre-order/RENT button to be able to stream the FULL SHOW for 24 hours

Happy NewD Year from MAD Trust & West End Bares

WEST END BARES: TURNED ON to premiere on Sun 10 Jan 2021 at 8pm GMT

After ten spectacular years raising money for the Make A Difference Trust, WEST END BARES, theatre’s hottest annual fundraiser, will be streaming a one-off event for 2021.

WEST END BARES: TURNED ON features the best of the West End and beyond take to the virtual stage from homes and studios around the world. Filmed in accordance with (ever changing!) Covid safety guidelines, the show features brand new content created especially for this one-off event, along with guest appearances from Graham Norton, Michelle Visage, Tom Allen, Todrick Hall, Michael Auger and Amy Hart.

WEST END BARES directed by Will Lucas, with choreography from Jenny Legg (9 to 5), Aaron David Jenkins (Wicked), Fletcher Dobinson (Cats) and David Grewcock (Singin’ In The Rain).

WEST END BARES benefits the Make A Difference Trust, a UK based charity with a vision of a world free from HIV and AIDS. Since its first scintillating show in 2010 WEST END BARES has raised over £350,000. WEST END BARES is based on the original concept BROADWAY BARES by Tony Award winning Broadway and West End director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

All proceeds from this event will go directly to help those on stage and behind the scenes who are experiencing financial hardship while theatres are closed due to Government mandated guidelines.

 

At the Bottom of this page there are  8 videos from West End Eurovision 2019 for you to enjoy while you wait to hear when the 2020 show will be able to go ahead.

Following the latest advice from the government, and to avoid contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, we have taken the decision with a heavy heart to postpone West End Eurovision 2020

These unprecedented circumstances will have an impact on all of us: on you, our audiences our friends and supporters, on our charitable activities and on our wonderful theatre community who work so hard to make our events possible.

We are a small charity that only exists because of the incredible support we receive from the theatre community. With this in mind, the Trust has joined with SOLT to support the theatre industry through the Coronavirus crisis.

We do keep a small amount of reserves and we will be using this to help. We will offer one off crisis payments and will look to provide small pockets of financial assistance to those who are experiencing unexpected financial hardship due to Coronavirus.

We will share further updates and confirmation of a new date once this is known and information about our events and plans via social media, on our website and via newsletters. Please bear with us in this time of international crisis.

Thank you for your support as always.
The Trustees of The Make A Difference Trust

If would like to register your interest for the show when we have a new date, please email us at eurovision@madtrust.org.uk

Here’s  8 videos from West End Eurovision 2019 for you to enjoy while you wait to hear when the 2020 show will be able to go ahead:

WEE19 Opening:

WEE19 Phantom of the Opera:

WEE19 Wicked:

WEE19 Only Fools and Horses:

WEE19 Mamma Mia:

WEE19 Follies:

WEE19 Everybody’s Talking About Jamie:

WEE19 Aladdin:

A West End Christmas 2019 – A magical night at The Actors Church, Covent Garden.
2019 was it’s 16th year, A West End Christmas once again heralded the start of the festive period and this time it was on World Aids Day 1st December 2019.

A night of celebration and remembrance with casts and stars of West End shows coming together to be a part of A West End Christmas. With carols, Christmas songs and readings, Christmas is celebrated in true West End style. Once again this year we will be returning to the beautiful surroundings of St Pauls (The Actors) Church in Covent Garden on Sunday 1st December 2019 at 7.30pm

The Make A Difference Trust is a UK based charity with a vision of a world free from HIV and AIDS. Building on the legacy of 30 years of fundraising by the Theatre industry, they continue to make the vision a reality having distributed over £1.6million in grants to support individuals experiencing hardship across the UK as well as over £1.5million to support projects with their UK and international partners. For further information about the Make A Difference Trust please visit www.madtrust.org.uk Once again, everyone at the show enjoyed complimentary delicious mulled wine and mince pies.

www.madtrust.org.uk

Here is the full video of A West End Christmas 2019: