"The Show Must Go Online" by Darley Dance.

Darley Dance had to raise £10,000 to get this online show online, and I 'm sure that, once you've seen this presentation, it was worth every single penny.

The quality of the camerawork and the sound is one of the most professional quality I've seen and heard. It's like watching a professional show.

The make up and costumes are excellent and the locations have been sought out to enhance the music and choreography for each piece.

From the opening piece, a wartime remembrance medley performed on stage at Derby Theatre, to some beautiful ballet at Shottle Hall. From Derby County Cricket Club to a night time view over the City location and within Derby Cathedral; these locations are perfect.

Reminding us of the Covid times we're living in at the moment, as well as the hard times that local theatre and performing arts are going through, Steve Jordan reads the poem "Don't Quit" by John Greenleaf Whittier, giving us hope and urging everyone to keep calm and carry on and not to quit. A sobering piece.

The Christmas Show takes us back to the uplifting and empowering music of the war years with the opening medley before swiftly moving on to a 1950's section of "A Teenager In Love" and a wonderfully sharp jive to Jackie Wilson's "Reet Petite".

Next to the serene setting of Derby Cathedral for one of my favourite Christmas songs "O Holy Night", made all the more humbling by the surroundings. I must mention that the lighting for this section is also really beautifully done and the camera work matches the lighting.

There is a brilliant lock down version of "The 12 Days Of Christmas" medley, completely socially distanced of course, and a tap version of Dermot Kennedy's "Power Over Me".

"The Show Must Go On" performed at Shottle Hall is sung with passion and Megan Smith's ballet makes this piece just like a music video.

I love the comic inserts in this show, like the North Pole Newbies speech and a new socially distanced re write of Cinderella made me chuckle.

There's even a touch of comedy, as well as video magic, in the Christmas classic "Let It Snow"

Santa Claus recites "Twas The Night Before Christmas" just before some more wonderful ballet set at various locations in Derbyshire to the stripped back version of "Somewhere Only We Know".

The Christmas vibe is then ramped up for some seasonal salutations, which also gives you the chance to sing along to "Jingle Bells" complete with lyrics on screen.

Directed and Choreographed by

Abbi Burns

, Musical Director is Georgia Harris, assisted by

Sarah Towle

and the excellent sound by

Harry Greatorex

. The online production is by Bob Rushton of Bob On Arts, and to borrow a Northern saying, this whole show is "bob on".

Entertaining us in such fine form are

Abbi Burns

, Rob Harris, Georgia Harris, Chelsea Boyes,

Sarah Towle

, Jade Lee,

Megan Smith

, and Ellie Tatham.

Filmed by Goldbox Productions, the scenes inside and out were of the highest quality, making each section look like a music promotional video.

This show is available to see online by visiting Darley Dance website or Facebook for more information and by making a donation to their Crowd Funder and is available until Thursday 31 December 2020. Any donation of any size will get you the link to the show.

Great entertainment for a night in on New Year's Eve or anytime before. And if that's not proof enough of what a brilliant show this is, just ask Gareth Evans of Smooth FM!