Dates For Your Diary
Coming next year...
The Tony 'Olivier' Awards
2nd - 4th December 2027
Save the Date!
2nd - 25th May 2026 : Oxfordshire Artweeks
Peter Ritson exhibits Views of Blewbury
Cornerstone Arts Centre, Didcot
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Peter paints a broad range of subjects in acrylics, generally on stretched canvas and likes to use colour to bring out the vibrancy of the composition. This exhibition will focus on Views of Blewbury where Peter has lived since 2004. We are delighted and very grateful that Peter will be donating a proportion of his sales profit from this exhibition to the Trust. Do go and take a look. Peter is exhibiting some 80 paintings, many for sale!
Latest News
Greetings Cards On Sale
These super greetings cards from paintings of Blewbury by Peter Ritson are on sale at Savages and the Post Office in Blewbury.
All profits will go to The Tony Loy Trust. Thank you so much Peter.
Simeon Conducts His Own 60-piece Orchestra
The Trust has supported Simeon for sometime. Now a second year student at Leeds Conservatoire, he always keeps us up-to-date with his progress.
We were blown away by this recent news. Congratulations Simeon, what an achievement.
For the last nine months, while putting on gigs as a jazz saxophonist, getting in the studio to record for different artists and dipping into wedding bands, I have slowly brought a new project to the fore. On Friday 6th February my very own Bezalel Orchestra of 60 musicians took to the stage for the first time. We used twenty Coldplay songs and then crazed up the arrangements, incorporating moments of big band jazz, Hans Zimmer like intros, funeral marches, rap, classical string interludes and just about anything else myself and the arranging team felt inclined to do. I had the privilege of conducting and introducing each tune and our ten singers. The evening was wild and precious, bringing much of the room to tears by the end with an overarching message of what unconditional love looks like.
Looking forward, we have naturally started brainstorming for Bezalel's next project given the high audience turnout and even more creatives wanting to join. However, in the mean time I have a new jazz fusion project brewing for an 8-piece band led by myself on saxophone. This will be playing original music of mine on the theme of how do we find space to grow as people in a world that doesn't always give us any. For this endeavour I have carefully chosen friends who hold close relation to this message and to each other. There have been so many projects this academic year for myself, and every single time I come away so thankful for all the people on them. Yes what we created, whether choral music with saxophone, horn arrangements for a pop EP release or jazz versions of well known operas, but also how we each contribute to the lives of one another simply by being present.
Linnet Theatre's new play opens at The Brockley Jack Theatre
The Trust was delighted to hear that George's company Linnet Theatre are to open at The Brockley Jack Theatre with their new play The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret.
I just wanted to give you an update and a massive thank you for the support you have given me.
We are two weeks away from our opening night of 'The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret' and it's safe to say that the rehearsal period and final product have been massively improved by the help you gave, being able to afford the rehearsal space needed for the show to come to life.
Putting on this production has been a massive learning curve and has really allowed me to hone my skills in producing theatre, operating stage lighting, and developing my writing skills, not to mention acting and directing. The goal is to make this production the springboard to move on to bigger and better things. We have heard back from many reviewers who are coming to watch, and we hope the feedback will be positive, making it easier for us to take the next step in the industry.
I have attached some photos we took during rehearsals the other day. Hopefully, they give you some insight into the show and how important your help has been to us. Once again, a massive thank you!
American Dance School heads to Dance World Cup in Dublin
American Dance School is based in Wantage and offers classes for those aged 4-18 in Creative Movement, Jazz, Ballet, Musical Theatre, Hip Hop, Contemporary, and Pointe.
The dancers work tirelessly, learning new techniques and routines, always striving to push themselves forward on their own dance journey. It is because of their commitment, passion, and talent, that they have been successfully selected to represent Team England in the Dance World Cup 2026 this summer in Dublin. The Dance World Cup is the world’s largest all-genre international dance competition, often called the “Olympics of Dance”. It features over 120,000 children and young adults from over 60 countries. 10,000 acts entered auditions at the end of last year to represent England, so to have several routines qualify and be selected is an amazing achievement. They will be representing England with 11 dances, including 5 solos, duets, trios, small groups and large group pieces in a variety of genres.​
The Trust has been able to help fund some of the expenses of this exciting opportunity taking place in July. Good luck everyone!
More from Alex and Owen
We have taken over two girls teams at Oxford City football club, an U10 girls team & an U13 girls junior premier league side. The latter have not lost a game this season winning 7 games & drawing 1, with an outstanding 50 goals scored and only 1 conceded.
The girls in the U13 junior premier league side also had a very good cup competition run. Winning their first game in the round of 64 moved them into the round of 32 where they played Watford FC in a very tight game winning on penalties to go through to the quarter final where they played West Ham United. Despite battling hard throughout the game they unfortunately lost 2-0 at the final whistle.
Blewbury Skatepark
The Trust fully supports the replacement of the existing, much-loved halfpipe on Tickers Folly Field.
The tender process for a new skatepark has been concluded with Bendcrete Leisure Ltd winning the Parish Council's tender bidding process. They have created an organic, flowing skatepark design with the potential to be used by a whole range of skill levels and wheel types. There are street and ramp features which have been designed with a modern, progressive attitude to form and have been carefully positioned to achieve a good flow with minimum potential for collisions. Flow is key in any skatepark.
The project co-ordinators are now working to complete the fundraising, to which The Tony Loy Trust has pledged an amount. The cost of the skatepark and the landscaping will be £110,000. To date £65,500 has been raised and further applications are being made to secure the rest of the funds. The aim is to complete the build by August 2026.
Pastures New for Eddie and Henrike
Eddie has appeared in a number of productions for The Blewbury Players and The Trust was able to support him through his time at Artemis College of Performing Arts. He is now in his first year at Sidcup's Rose Bruford College so it was lovely to receive this update from him.
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It has been a very intense few months - I’m very privileged to receive 30-32 contact hours per week! The basis of all of our training in the first year is Sanford Meisner Technique so we have spent a lot of time practising being emotionally open and working off impulse. This has been freeing for me as it has given me permission not to be self-conscious and to perform in unexpected ways.
As well as opening up emotionally, we have spent a lot of time trying to open up physically by dealing with tension in the body and tackling habits which make us individual. It’s been amazing to realise how much tension I hold and how it closes me off from being vulnerable and honest. This emotional openness can also be shown through breath - every day we go through an hour warm up to lower the breath placement and improve our resonance. ​
Henrike is an accomplished cellist having played with the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra whilst at school. Now in her first year studying medicine at University College London, playing the cello remains an important part of Henrike's life. With fellow medical students she plays in a string ensemble, aptly named Heartstrings. They play at fundraising events and have also played for patients and parents at Great Ormond Street Hospital. With the need to carry her cello greater distances these days, the Trust was very pleased to be able to support Henrike in the purchase of this new lightweight cello case.
I have felt very connected to why I love acting over the past few months and have made some really strong connections. I have also managed to spend some extra-curricular time making films and dancing. Next term we begin ‘scene study’ , applying the impulse work of the first term to script work. I'm looking forward to what will be a fun challenge.
Singing Lessons for Abigail
Abigail recently showcased her talent at a BlewSing concert, singing four pieces including Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Take That Look Off Your Face'. The Trust were keen to support her and encouraged her to apply for funding. We are delighted to be supporting a number of Abigail's singing lessons as she starts her final GCSE year. She has recently sent this news and we wish her all the best in Les Miserables with OYMT to be performed at Abingdon School. Tickets from https://www.abingdon.org.uk/sports-and-leisure/performance/oymt-presents-les-miserables/
I've done my recording for my Grade 6 vocal exam last week and I'm waiting for a the response back. in the meantime I am beginning work on some Grade 7 pieces with my music teacher. In my school's chamber choir, we are preparing to do our own concert with all the pieces we have worked on in the last few years. Also I'm currently rehearsing in a production of Les Miserables with Oxford Youth Musical Theatre group which will be performed in April.
Megan looking to expand her Musical Theatre portfolio
Megan is a singer and actor from South Oxfordshire.
As a young girl she toured the South of England as Jemima Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and her most notable credit was being cast as Maud Spellbody, the lead role in the BBC / Netflix / Disney Channel adaptation of The Worst Witch.
More recently, Megan appeared in the film Club Zero and has taken on a range of short film projects, continuing to build her screen experience. She is now focused on expanding her musical theatre portfolio. “Hamilton will always be my favourite show — it’s the one that made me fall in love with musical theatre,” she says.
Megan is deeply grateful to the Tony Loy Trust for its support throughout her training and early career. "Without this support, I would have faced significant barriers to accessing the arts. I believe organisations like the Trust are vital to ensuring that talent doesn’t fall through the net". She looks forward to continuing that relationship as she grows as an artist.
Alongside her passion for the arts, Megan is committed to charitable and community work. She is a youth ambassador for Secret Santa 365, an ambassador for Reliked, a sustainable clothing organisation, and an international ambassador for girls’ education with the African Health Organisation.
