Mum takes son to audition and lands starring role thanks to parody song

by The Citizen

When mum Lorraine Campbell took her son for an audition for a musical she didn't expect to land a role herself.

But while she waited for son John to try out, she was asked to sing a number.

â¿¿Mum-of-one Lorraine has been fighting for a Tuffley post box to be reinstalled after Royal Mail removed it, and the only thing she could think of to belt out in the impromtu audition was her campaign parody.

She penned a song called Will You Bring Our Postbox Back?, sung to the tune of the Les Miserables musical hit Do You Hear the People Sing?

She said: "I took my son John to auditions and when he had done I was called into the audition room. Much to my surprise they asked me to sing a number.

"The only thing I could do off the top of my head was the parody we had written to fight for the return of the box.

"They loved the story of why we wrote it and I was given a part."

Lorraine and her 11-year-old son, from Fox Elms Road, will both star in the production by Gloucester Operatic and Dramatic Society (GODS) in June. He will perform hits from Oliver, while she will sing Les Miserables songs.

And the parody may now even be written into the play in true Gilbert and Sullivan style. The composer and lyricist duo would often write topical messages into their musical works. 

* Lorraine, 50, has fought for three months to get her street's historic post box reinstated.

Royal Mail removed it in December after a homeowner asked for it to be moved down the road.

In her fight to have it returned, Lorraine has enlisted the support of city MP Richard Graham, city councillor Colin Organ and even history experts English Heritage. 

English Heritage and Royal Mail have begun talks. The former says it has an agreement with the postal service to protect the famous red letter boxes, but the latter says it only applies to Georgian and Victorian boxes, not more recent ones.