Ruth Foster of inclusive drama group Magic of Showbiz in East Renfrewshire tells us how a 'Together Again' microgrant from Creative Lives helped the young participants put on a much longed-for show after Covid.

"A huge thank you to all at Creative Lives for believing in our group and allowing us to share our passion for the inclusive arts. Your support allowed us to reach over 120 audience members across two performances of our Winter Warmer.

This annual showcase allows us to bring together isolated community members to share in some warm food, good company, and great theatre! This year we created our own version of A Christmas Carol to highlight the importance of compassion, community, and of course, creativity!

We chose these lyrics because, after such a distressing and isolating time throughout Covid, they perfectly summarise how lucky we are to have one another and all our supporters. “I’ve got everything I need right in front of me! Life’s a happy song when there’s someone by your side to sing along.”

Feedback from our audience :

“Today I saw a brilliant show with 100% commitment and loads of smiles. I felt proud and privileged to see such talented young people enjoying themselves so much.”

“Thank you to the amazing young people for such uplifting and talented performances and the staff for all their magic. The amazing carers for all their unsung heroism. It was so worth the wait!” 

“It was so so good in every way. You’re all an incredible team that pulls together, works together and creates absolute magic moments that will be remembered forever. Audience participation was whole-hearted and there was an exciting atmosphere throughout. Thank you to absolutely everybody who makes this possible - my boy loves this club!"

From all of us to all of you, a great big Showbiz thankyou!"