A singing group from Witham has been recognised for their musical talents on that stage.

WITHAM Amateur Operatic Society is celebrating after its production of Cinderella scooped an award for Best Musical.

The prestigious prize was awarded by the North Essex Theatre Guild. (NETG) awards for their performance of Cinderella. Director and choreographer Claire Carr said: “The musical of Cinderella rather than a pantomime version was initially a risky choice to do in a small theatre environment.

“But the fantastic team effort that went into every aspect of the production meant that it worked smoothly.”

The theatre guild goes to see every show the society puts on to assess their performance, looking at everything from characters to sound, costume, make-up, scenery, front of house and the direction of choreography.

The group (pictured) was up against more than 200 musicals but came for the award and came out on top at a ceremony award night last Friday.

Younger group WOW were also victorious on the night as Yaz Sharp, who played Millie Dilmount in their production of Thoroughly Modern Millie, which was also directed by Claire, won the award for Best Young Actress. Claire said: “Yaz did an outstanding job. She was hardly off the stage and had numerous routines and songs to perform. She truly deserves this award.”

She added: Talking about both productions Claire said: “It has been an absolute delight to work with such hard-working and talented societies over the past year. I am extremely proud of both shows.”

Witham Amateur Operatic Society’s next performance is Sister Act – The Musical which runs from Monday, October 21, to Saturday, October 26.