A Love Letter to Musicals

A "Made in the Northern Rivers" Bangalow Film Festival exclusive
fri 15 march 5:00pm aedt

An ode to the magic of musicals and to singing your heart out. A feature-length sing-along mash-up made of some of the most famous and beloved songs from iconic musicals with each song sung live by a chorus. This is a one-of-a-kind emphatic love letter to musicals and to singing, created by the Shire Choir for the Bangalow Film Festival.

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From the humble beginnings at the Bangalow Hotel in 2018, Shire Choir – directed by Melia Naughton and produced by Sally Schofield, has entertained 1000s of locals with their iconic audience powered singfest.

Designed as a crash course in vocal harmony, the audience becomes the entertainment, learning a classic pop/rock song in parts and then belting it out, for one night only.

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In addition to their regular public shows, in 2023, the Shire Choir assembled a ‘vocal supergroup’ – The Sounds of the Shire Choir – bringing together the incredible voices of local musicians, musical theatre performers and more to create an all-star ensemble of voices from the Byron Shire.

“Musicals are literally in our blood. There’s something deeply nostalgic and comforting about singing along to a soundtrack to a movie, it connects the audience to the story on the screen and the audience around them in such a profound and magical way. You only have to look at interactive cinema screenings of Grease, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Priscilla and anything by Baz Luhrmann to see that audiences around the world crave participation with the music that makes these films so memorable. And that’s what we’ll be bringing to the Bangalow Film Festival in 2024. We can’t wait to sing with you.” – Melia & Sally

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Screens with short film Shire Choir's Feelgood Community Tour

Director: Sharon Shostak

Audience-powered singing experience Shire Choir took their Community Feelgood Tour on the road last year, visiting historic halls that were hubs of support during the devastating 2022 floods. What happens when a room of humans gather to use their voices and sing in harmony? Local filmmaker Sharon Shostak captures the healing power of collective singing. 

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