Grantham’s The Fourtunes hope to go from ‘strength to strength’

In our seventh Behind the Scenes feature, we talk to the Fourtunes Musical Group.

In 2018, after meeting through Harrowby Singers, Rebecca Sale, Steven Sale, Daniel Poole and Sonya Mahoney formed The Fourtunes.

Despite Covid putting a spanner in the works, the group came back together in 2022 and put on a concert at St Wulfram’s Church featuring other local groups.

After the concert, they thought “you know what we really did enjoy that”, said Rebecca, and the group decided to produce and perform a musical.

Rebecca added: “It was never our intention.

“We know each other really well. We all met in Harrowby Singers over 25 years ago.

“My husband [Steven] and I met in Harrowby Singers. We’ve played many many parts opposite each other and we were like yeah we can do this!

“So we found a show that was just four people and it was fast paced, changing costumes each scene and the audience responded really well, so we thought we put on another one.”

After the success of their first musical, the group decided to plan their next, which is No Way To Treat A Lady, due to be performed next year.

Rebecca said: “I think we’ve decided as a group that we would like to look at putting on musicals for a small cast for people because that is a bit of a niche.”

After knowing each other for many years, the group is “comfortable together” and they can “rely on each other”.

Rebecca added: “If someone goes wrong then we’ve got each other’s back.

“You have a real laugh at rehearsals because we’ve known each other so long.

“And I think we’re all confident that we are fairly well matched ability wise.”

The amateur dramatic scene is incredibly important to the group as all members are a part of different societies around town.

Rebecca, who joined Harrowby Singers when she was 12, said the “arts and especially amateur dramatics is hugely important”.

She added: “I think when we get together, it’s just a little escape.

“You know, it gives a little bit of joy on a dull evening. We know we’re going to come together, learn some lines and sing a few songs.

“But most importantly, we have fun and we have a laugh.”

Rebecca believes Grantham has a “rich” arts and culture scene.

She added: “We’ve got fabulously talented people that come from all walks of life.

“We go and support all of the other societies.

“In Grantham, it’s a relatively cheaper way of going to watch live theatre and immerse people into arts and culture by supporting the local talent that we’ve got.”

To improve and promote the importance of Grantham’s arts and culture, Rebecca believes there needs to be a raised awareness of what goes into a show.

She said: “I think people aren’t aware when they come to watch your show how much financial cost there is to put on a show.

“For us as a group, it costs as much money to pay for our licence for a show as it is for a group with 30 or 40 people.

“So, I think it would be nice if the audience had a bit of understanding of what amateur actually means, especially in a smaller town like Grantham where there are an awful lot of amateur groups.”

Looking to the future, The Fourtunes hope to go from “strength to strength and gather more supporters as we go”, adde Rebecca.

She said: “Hopefully next year, we can put on another show on and the year after and try and make it an annual thing.”

The Fourtunes will be performing No Way To Treat A Lady on February 2 and February 3, 2024, at the Guildhall Arts Centre.

To buy tickets, call the Guildhall Box Office on 01746 406158.