Several months back, I attended an audition for an upcoming show for The Posh Club They were recruiting roller skaters over the age of 40. I’d heard about it from a few different skaters and thought that it could be a fun project to potentially be a part of— especially as there was a good chance that I'd know the majority of the applicants from the scene. I mean, I didn't exactly have much to lose at 50! 

The Audition Process

The auditions were being headed by Karen Da'Silva (the artistic director & choreographer), Dickie (producer at The Posh Club), and Frankie J (professional dancer, skater, and choreographer).

Karen briefed us on how the audition would be run, we were pleased to know that we should treat it more like a creative skate workshop — and so we did.

It was a mixed bag, a small nuber of skaters that I hadn't met/skated with before, others I knew very well. Many were pretty experienced jam skaters, while others were nearer the earlier stages of their roller skating journey. 

Being an older bunch, everyone got chatting with ease and offered lots of support to one another throughout the process. The afternoon was broken up into a few sections. We started with a warm up before exploring different ways to showcase our skate flow — with and without props. We were then lead through a short routine led by Frankie before having the chance to play with it and make it our own.

The process encouraged a lot of playfullness, spontaneity and fun. Honestly, it felt more like one of our skate meet ups with a creative twist — it was a really nice exoerience.

After the audition came to an end, we were told that we'd each be contacted by email letting us know the outcome.

As promised, I received an email with a verdict. I was pleased to find out that I'd been invited to join the shows cast. Better still, I had been paired with my good friend Laverne as the skate marshalls/opening act! We were to support the three lead skaters: Paul Shipp, Janna Bedaux and David Graham.

 

The Posh Club

Prior to the start of rehersals in March, we were invited to attend one of the regular Posh Club events in Dalston, Hackney. It was certainly an eye opener. The event is presented by Azara and delivered by team of volunteers with so much care, consideration and humour, it really is easy to see why it is so often a sell out affair. 

Let me tell you this, The Posh Clubs over 65 year old punters are proper zesty and 100% ready to have themselves a thoroughly good time. Azara and Dickie know the regulars by name, they have a great connection. They're very familiar withthe set up, and are ready to heckle and get stuck in throughout the afternoon. There's always a range of acts — from burlesque dancing, comedy, singing and other displays of creativity, naughtiness and opprtunities to dance between performances. These lot were getting down to reggae, soca, soul, pop and jungle anthems before finishing up with the candy dance and other line dancing sequences. Mate, let me tell you that we had a proper rave up during those 2 hours. Basically, they are us in a couple decades time!

The Rehearsals

Rehearsals began early March, continuing through the month to the three-day show for the Posh Club punters ar Stanley Arts, [a historic cultural venue in South London]. Stanely Arts is a vibrant creative hub providing space for theatre, dance, music, community events, and emerging artists.

The three lead performers were rehearsing most days as they each had a solo to perform as well as a group act. Laverne and I rehearsed our opening piece both inside Stanley Arts with the team, and outside in other locations whenever we could manage to get together.

Our piece was high energy and funfilled. We loved experimenting with the various ideas and played around with the use of props. With guidance from Karen and our lead choreographer Frankie J, we worked through the logistics of using the performance space to its fullest so we could prepare the audience for what was to come. 

The Show

The show was being stage managed by Tony [all the ay from Australia] who was super efficient and wonderfully supported by our gorgeous skate agents [all dressed in red]. Each of the casts' costumes were created by super talented Claire Ashey, and our makeup on performance days was taken care of by Rachel Porter, which made everything feel that much more spectacular. It was an exciting process to be part of.

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers Rehersals at Stanely Arts

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers [The Posh Club]  Golden Girls

➡️ Watch Video: The Rollers [The Posh Club] Soul Train Skate

➡️ Watch Video: The Posh Club Punters

The three consecutive days of live performances all unfolded well — from the many technical aspects [sound and complicated lighting lifghting to name a few] to costumes, make-up, cues, performances, right down to the food and wine served by our skate agents. Yes, there were one or two tiny hitches, but these were all resolved by the team. 

The whole experience was such a wonderful collaborative effort. This was my first show performed in a theatre [with all the razzle dazzle that goes with it] and I must say it was pretty thrilling! I think we all grew in various ways through the process. I expected it to be much more pressured, but instead it was filled with a string of rewards. 

The management team, cast members, staff members at Stanely Arts, volunteers and punters were all wonderfull in their own ways. The icing on the cake was seeing The Posh Clubs punters really enjoying the show, as well as so many supporters [including a good number of our skating family] make the effort to come out to support us — it meant so much to all of us. There was also a great deal of support and encouragement from those that could not make it to the show. The spirited generosity was felt. 

But hold up, it seems that it might not all be over after all! Having had a member of the arts council in attendance at the show, as well as Justine Simons OBE [London's Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries] and.... with such amazing feedback the audience— I hear tell there may be a London wide tour of the show on the horizon. I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

Watch this space [just saying].