Celebrate Voice: Singing SENDsations - Create, Sing, Shine!

Singing SENDsations returns to Salisbury Methodist Church on Friday 30 October, from 10am to 3.30pm. It's the Celebrate Voice Festival's long-running workshop for people of all ages with learning disabilities and their caregivers, and the whole day is built around making something from scratch rather than just singing along to a set list.

Artistic Director Lynsey Docherty leads the session, and the morning is spent pulling together singing, movement, storytelling and imagination to build an original, devised piece of musical theatre. The participants don't just perform a part; they help shape the piece as it comes together throughout the day. By the afternoon, that work takes the form of a short show, which is performed at 3.15pm for family, friends and other festival audiences. It's a full day of creating and then sharing what's been made, with pizza provided to keep everyone going.

There's a professional team on hand to guide the process: music leader Rob Gildon, West End composer Tim Gilvin and a group of professional festival singers. Having a composer and professional singers involved means the music is written and supported in the room, so the focus stays on the making rather than on getting a pre-existing song right. The session is open to people of all ages with learning disabilities, accompanied by parents, carers or support staff.

It runs from 10am to 3.30pm at Salisbury Methodist Church, 26 St Edmund's Church Street, Salisbury, SP1 1EF, with the performance starting at 3.15pm.