Co-op Juniors create festive light show

Andrew Clarke

Published: 11:30 AM January 1, 2021

lights outside co-op juniors headquarters

The Co-op Juniors have created a light and sound show to bring some festive cheer to their neighbourhood - Credit: Alan Ayres

The Co-op Juniors Christmas Spectacular at Snape may have had to be put on hold this year because of the Covid-lockdown, but the young theatre company have still found a way to bring some festive cheer to the world by creating a musical lightshow outside their Ipswich headquarters.

lights and Christmas trees outside Co-op Juniors offices

The Co-op Juniors theatre company have created a musical lightscape outside their rehearsal space in Pauls Road, Ipswich - Credit: Alan Ayres

Using lights, props and sets originally destined for their annual Christmas show, they have fashioned a huge musical display, with thousands of twinkling lights, gold arches and towers of present boxes outside the Co-op Juniors warehouse studios in Paul’s Road.

Christmas Spectacular musical light-show has already attracted lots of admiring comments on social media. The sound and vision lightshow was the brainchild of technical director Alan Ayres who said it was a golden opportunity to bring some much-needed festive cheer into people's lives at a time when live entertainment is on pause.

The lightshow runs every 20 minutes each day from 4pm to 9pm until Sunday, January 3, with the Christmas music medley perfectly synchronised with colourful lights. James Aleksic, who designed the display for the Co-op Juniors, spent an entire week programming the lights to music.

Alan Ayres said: "We ran creative classes for almost 200 young people six days a week during the autumn but that was paused more recently. With the postponement of Christmas Spectacular at Snape, we thought a big music and light show outside the studios would show people we're still here and can still put on a show.

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"It's the largest musical light-show in the county and can be enjoyed safely either in a car or socially distanced on the pavement at Paul's Road. We hope more people will come down and enjoy it before the final performance this Sunday at 9pm."

The Co-op Juniors are currently raising money for their £50,000 appeal fund to allow them to continue supporting the creative work for the cast and theatre academy.