Show is put on just for old folk

Apr 1 2010 by David Whetstone, The Journal

THE irrepressible Simon Gross has his entertainment troops out on the road in the North East, performing for people for whom a night out is little more than a memory.

Simon’s SG Productions performs for all kinds of people in many different situations but they have made nursing and residential homes, day centres, hospitals and sheltered housing a speciality.

The philosophy of SG is that if you can’t get to the theatre, they will bring the theatre to you.

Simon, a farmer’s son from Oxfordshire, says that from an early age he knew that showbusiness rather than agriculture was his calling.

He and his sister started entertaining when they were teenagers, taking shows into nursing and residential homes.

“I’ve always been around old people, since spending time with my grandparents when I was little,” he recalls.

His career began in a fairly conventional way with a theatre arts diploma and a spell as a Butlins redcoat in Scarborough. SG Productions has been going for about nine years.

The company is based in Beckenham, Kent, but the North East is now firmly on its itinerary.

The current show, California, Here I Come, is based on Al Jolson and the songs and stars of the 1920s, 30s and 40s with special tributes to Ruby Keeler, Irving Berlin, The Ziegfeld Follies, 42nd Street, the Charleston and more.

That’s a pretty heavy burden to place on the shoulders of two performers but evidently Helen Kent and David Herzog have proved equal to the task. On Tuesday the pair were at Walldean Court in Wallsend where they were warmly received.

“It went really well,” said care manager Gayle Marshall whose staff care for 42 elderly people.

“We’ve had the same troupe before and we’re hoping to have them back again.

“The residents loved it. It’s nice to be able to offer them live entertainment with material that’s suitable for them. They were fantastic.”

Next week the entertainers are in Cramlington, Whickham, Byker, Lanchester, Gosforth and Stockton.

The residents loved it. It’s nice to be able to offer them live entertainment with material suitable for them