The Choir: Sing While You Work (2012) s01e01 Episode Script
Lewisham NHS Trust
- One, two, three.
Gareth Malone wants to help Britain's workers find their voice.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm here to start a choir.
If you are at all interested, make yourself known to me.
In search of hidden talent, he wants to create choirs in four of Britain's busiest workplaces.
Are you a singer? What do you do? - Dig holes for a living, mate.
Yes, he does! And for the workers, company pride will be at stake when they compete to find Gareth's best workplace choir.
- Is everybody ready? Fighting spirit? - Yes.
Let's go and do it.
When I was learning to sing, it was through competing that I got better, and I want that for these choirs.
I want them to feel the pressure and get better.
Before the performance, I'll pray to God.
God, help us, this time! - Want to win it.
- Yeah.
And we're going to go hell for leather to win it.
Months and months of work and slog come down to that one moment when you're on stage.
That's why I love it.
Gareth Malone is on his way to one of London's busiest hospitals, Lewisham NHS Trust.
He wants to create the first of four choirs that will compete in his singing contest.
It is going to be a really interesting place to start a choir, because there's a wide variety of people working there.
Everyone has their own job, but they don't always come together.
You know, when does a porter sit with a surgeon and have a chat? When do they stand together as one and represent the hospital? I bet that never happens.
And The Choir is about bringing everyone together for one purpose, which is to sing and represent that company.
Cheers.
Lewisham NHS Trust has over 3,000 staff.
It deals with over 100,000 patients a year.
It's the NHS.
I'm in the queue.
Good morning.
I'm Gareth Malone, I'm here to start a choir.
- I think you've got a pass for me.
- Yes.
That's for you.
- Oh, great, thanks.
- And they've left you a map - A map.
as well.
Is it complicated? Oh, gosh.
Now, where shall I go first? - Erm That's the best place to start.
- The yellow zone.
Spread over 14 sites, and with over 200 departments, Gareth needs to create a choir that represents every part of the hospital.
The hospital actually functions like a series of little villages.
I don't know a lot of the clerical staff.
I don't know a lot of the admin staff, or even the nurses.
There are so many jobs in the hospital, honestly.
We just see people in the corridor and you go past.
We won't necessarily talk to you unless we have something to do with you.
To be honest, I can't figure out which way up this map goes.
To find the best voices, Gareth will be holding a series of open auditions.
Are you interested in being in a choir at all? - I'm starting a choir for the hospital.
- No, thanks.
No.
I'm rushing to do an assessment.
- I've got to get something to eat.
- Thank you very much.
No problem.
Right, the Anderson Delivery Suite.
Hello, Doctor.
Are you interested in being in a choir? No, I can't sing.
You can't sing.
Are you interested? I can come in between sections tomorrow in the morning possibly, but I can't give a definite time.
I don't think anyone has ever said that that they're gonna have to squeeze in the audition between Caesarean sections to me before.
That's a first.
- Are you interested in being in a choir? - A choir? It's for absolutely everyone who works here.
Yeah, I'd love to.
- Have you done some singing before? - Yeah.
- I'm Gareth.
- Derek.
Lovely to meet you.
What do you do here? - I'm a kitchen porter.
- I got a kind of kitchen vibe.
What sort of thing do you like to sing? Brilliant.
I want you to audition.
- Thanks.
Bye-bye.
- OK, bye-bye.
Take care.
Over the next two days, Gareth auditions over 120 staff.
- I'm really scared.
- Yeah.
- Got a real dry throat now.
- Yeah, I know.
- I haven't practiced.
- I had a cold.
I'm still coughing.
He's looking for the 30 strongest voices from across the hospital.
Hello.
Who's nervous? I bet everyone.
Great.
This is about taking the best of this hospital and then bringing it together.
I want those people who are absolutely top notch.
Come and have a seat here.
- Good afternoon.
- Good afternoon.
And welcome to your audition.
We are here to create a choir for your hospital that is excellent.
We're going to have to hear everybody sing individually.
And I know that's slightly scary and alarming.
We are going to start with Aaron.
- Let's hear your singing voice.
That is a bass.
Okay.
Well done.
Very good.
Natalie, here we go.
Sorry.
Sorry.
- Sorry.
Frog.
- Frog.
- I think we could go up, don't you? - Yes.
Let's do it then.
Let's go up again, please.
I'm still shaking, because I'm so shocked at what Gareth was able to get me to do with my voice.
I enjoyed myself.
I was happy I was at the back, I was well hidden, so no-one could see me.
I doubt I'll get in though.
As the staff keep coming Gareth takes his pick.
From female altos and sopranos to male basses and tenors.
Fantastic.
Chidi, we need to work on the serious expression.
Do you do a very serious job? - Um, in A&E.
- He's an A&E consultant, yes.
A&E consultant.
Yeah, that sounds pretty serious.
- Eddie, what do you do? - I'm a surgeon.
- I stop people bleeding to death.
- OK, good.
I just find it amusing that you said, "Makes the medicine go down," because that's like Well, I'm a surgeon.
People do what I tell them.
Right peddle to my right foot.
Not yet.
My job title, I'm a consultant vascular surgeon, which basically means I operate on people's blood pipes.
As I say to my mates at the rugby club, I'm a posh plumber.
Basically, when you're a consultant surgeon, the buck stops with me for everything that happens to the patients under my care.
In theatre, everyone knows how I like things done.
They also know that if they're not done that way, I'll get pretty cross about it.
You'll feel a bit of pressure in your leg now.
I don't find it stressful, unless things are not done the way I want them.
- Well done.
Thank you.
Thank you, Eddie.
OK, Joe.
OK, what do you do here? - I'm an anaesthetist.
- Anaesthetist.
- Do you work together? - Occasionally, but he probably doesn't recognise me because I'm quite junior.
- Ah.
Is it all right for you to be sat next to him? I'm a little bit tense, but I'm OK.
Eddie, would you like me to move him somewhere else? No, I'm fine.
He's more likely to be nervous than me.
No, that's good, yeah.
Eddie looks very well.
Joe, every reason to be terrified.
Let's hear you.
Head for the hills.
Well done.
Thank you.
Well done.
That was good.
There's some pretty good voices in there.
I think it's gonna do a lot of good.
The fact they were in that session, you had people that had never met.
An anaesthetist that would never have spoken to the surgeon.
The surgeon was sat right next to him in the choir.
Actually, it was the junior member of staff who was the better singer.
So, it's great.
It's a great leveller.
Auditions over, it's decision time for Gareth.
Right, he's good.
He's definitely in.
He wants a cross section of the hospital, but also needs the best voices to represent Lewisham in the contest.
He's a staff nurse.
He wasn't bad.
He'd a good, light sound, but I think he might But what a spread of the hospital.
It's amazing.
I've got an anaesthetist, a surgeon.
I've got ENT.
I've got language therapy.
I've got physiotherapists coming out of my ears.
I've got a really good range.
Nurses, everybody.
Feels really good.
The next morning Gareth's back to break the good news of who's in.
- Are you busy? - Yeah, just a little bit.
I want to say well done and I'd like you to be in the choir.
- Oh, thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you very much.
Excited! - Yeah? - Sarah.
- Yes.
- You did very well in your audition.
- Thank you.
- I'd like you to be in the choir.
- Oh, my God! - Guess what, I got in.
- Yeah! - Hello, Natalie.
How are you? - I'm fine.
We'd like you to be in the choir.
Oh, my God.
And now it's time for some singing.
Natalie Beaumont is a speech therapy assistant for the trust.
I work with children with a language delay and I work with deaf children.
It's just the most moving job ever.
Don't look.
Pick one.
What's that? - A star! - Go! A lot of people see me as quite a strong person.
I don't see myself as that.
I see myself as quite under-confident.
I was bullied at school.
I think that's probably why I never ever wanted to go and sing in public.
And although I do it in my job here, again it's behind closed doors.
Oh! Well done! I feel like I've almost come out of the closet.
My secret's out.
I like to sing.
Lunchtime at the hospital.
Hello, ladies.
Hi, hello.
Taking a break from busy shifts, Gareth's handpicked singers arrive for their first ever rehearsal.
Welcome to the choir.
Very good.
I'd like to remind you that you are now in a contest.
This is going to get exciting.
It's going to be a lot of fun.
It is about bringing the hospital together, but now we have to really come together as a unit.
I suspect a lot of you haven't even seen each other before.
Oh, that's great.
Ah, the surgeon and the porter.
Brilliant.
So, we need a song that best represents the hospital.
That sums up what you do here.
Yes.
I've had an idea.
Well, the closest one I could get to what I do is If You Want Blood By AC/DC.
But I don't think it's Hands up in favour of that.
I've had a really good idea.
Any others? - Sorry? - The Drugs Don't Work.
- The Drugs Don't Work.
- Any other gems? Natalie, yeah.
- Come On Get Happy, by Judy Garland.
Everybody should be happy.
- You don't want anything depressing? - No.
- Not for your first song, no.
- Lean On Me.
- Lean On Me.
I've always Do you all know that? Can we hear this? - Can we all sing that? That's quite good, actually.
And coming out of your mouths, it sort of worked.
I've never really been into that song, but hearing a group of people in the medical profession say, "Lean on me," it's quite moving, actually.
- I had a little bit of a tingle there.
All those in favour of Lean On Me.
Ooh! I think it's Lean On Me.
But what would be quite interesting with this is just to do a There we go.
Well done.
Give yourselves a round of applause.
That was really fantastic, actually.
The first rehearsal sound was very promising.
I'm desperately competitive and I can't see a competition or a contest without wanting to be in it.
And if I'm in it, I want to win it.
To become a consultant you do need to have a little bit of a push about you.
I see myself as a somewhat competitive person and I definitely want us to win.
It's gonna take a little while before I think that I'm able to, you know, fully relax and fully open up to this whole singing thing.
It's so fascinating to see the different parts of the hospital coming together.
All of the porters looked a little bit nervous and like, "Do we really belong here?" The surgeons feel like they belong here, because they are central to what the hospital does.
It's amazing, actually, how much lack of confidence there is amongst them and a lot of them haven't sung before in choirs, and yet, a great sound is emerging.
Really, really excited about this.
Over the following weeks, to help get the choir to contest standards, Gareth arranges for them to have additional rehearsal sessions with a local choir master.
And Good.
On his next visit - How are you? - Good, thank you.
I've come to see you.
Gareth spends time with some of the non-medical staff.
Wandering about just, um, having a quick session with you, just to build up your confidence a bit.
Meeting up with pharmacy porter, Aaron.
- What are you used to doing, music-wise? - Just doing a bit of rapping.
Really? Could you give me a demonstration? You're breathing in the wrong place.
Now lie on the floor.
I know it seems weird.
OK, so shove that on your stomach.
There we are.
Now, try and the bottle to rise up when you breathe in.
There you go.
Try and do that on an "Ah", so you go, "Ah" Ah - Yawn.
It's great.
It's really good.
I felt like I was actually, using something actually down there.
Yeah.
You speak in a very soft way.
I think what we need is, like, - the confident Aaron.
- Yeah.
- Yeah? - Yeah, I suppose.
Yeah? I don't know.
I think that after a while I should get the confidence.
Obviously, it's all different for me.
It's new for me.
I think eventually How do you feel about being stood next to people who are, you know, from a totally different part of the hospital? That's different.
That's quite good, actually, because they're usually you know, there's levels.
Not the you know, but there is levels.
There's this, that, doctors Everyone mixes with their own levels.
You get what I'm saying? I think the choir should make you feel like you are equally as part of the hospital as the next person, even if they are a general surgeon.
Yeah, it's gonna take a while though, because the levels, they're difficult to break down.
But, yeah, I'm feeling it a little bit.
You're doing well.
Thank you for that.
It was great.
- See you around.
- See you later.
A few days later How often do you all leave the hospital together? Never.
Great.
Well, it's a first.
Come on, let's get on board.
To help the choir bond, Gareth arranges a social night out.
Welcome to the boat.
The reason I've brought you on this boat is so that absolutely no-one can get off.
Nobody can get paged, nobody can get called away.
Cheers.
- You know each other already, don't you? - No, I know Sophia.
Yeah.
I don't know anyone.
- You're a physio? - I'm a physio.
- You never talk to junior doctors? - But we're on different floors.
I don't think we have ever really done anything that's built us all together.
We're all getting to know what everyone does, I think.
And then we can kind of join together and win.
And win.
That'll be great.
When I started work, they said, "OK, Mr Chaloner's here, and he likes a few certain things and just don't piss him off, basically, or he'll kick you straight out of theatre.
" Everyone knows where we stand.
We're doing it my way.
That's it.
I'm gonna learn a lot from you, I think.
It's been absolutely fantastic.
I think everyone's getting to know each other.
It's a really good atmosphere.
And I think they like each other, but, my goodness, there's so much stiffness and difficulty between them, because of this hospital hierarchy.
Um, and we've got some very senior people in this choir.
So, I think we need to loosen them up a bit and break that down.
This has been a great start, but there's more to do.
Guys, come outside, it's Tower Bridge.
Come out, it's great.
Right, everyone.
Shall we do a bit of a sing-song? How's that? One, two A few weeks later, Gareth is on his way back to the hospital.
I'm really happy with how they've come together.
They're starting to bond.
In the contest, the choir's going to be judged on how much they're a unit, on how much the sound blends together.
And if you're not a totally united force, then that can't really work.
So they're going to have to bond further.
And I think it's only through performing that you really understand that.
So, I need to get them out.
- Hello, everyone.
- Hello.
How are you? Awesome, yeah? Let's have a quick listen to Lean On Me.
I'd like to get this one licked today.
Let's just get it done.
Done and dusted.
Can I hear the sopranos on your own? Two, three, and Yeah, good.
That's it, isn't it? Can I just check those harmonies? Can I hear basses and tenors on top of that? Two, three It's quite hard, isn't it? Can you just turn in to face Eddie? And sing it to him.
Just do what you do freestyle.
OK, now sing it.
Unaccompanied.
One, two, three.
I think that's excellent.
And I think that it is time that you performed it, in front of a group of patients.
- Yeah! - Yeah? And I'd like us to do it right now.
Let's go.
I am nervous, because I don't know how we're going to sound out there.
This is our first outing.
Just scared I'm gonna do it wrong.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's medicine of a very different kind today.
It's musical medicine from the first performance of the newly formed Lewisham Hospital staff choir.
Everyone behind me works in the hospital and they have all got together and they're going to sing for you.
It's a lovely surprise.
For a first performance, I mean, it was lovely.
The choir was fantastic.
Lewisham is a very good hospital and everybody works so hard to keep us going.
Well done.
How are you feeling? - Good.
- Pretty good? It felt really nice and really appropriate to go and perform for patients.
It was a soft audience, wasn't it? Officially, I give you the rubber stamp.
You're a choir.
- Very well done.
Did you enjoy it? - Enjoyed it very much.
The thing that you taught me earlier, I've been I was actually applying that today.
I was using it and it did help.
I've been getting good reviews about you from the other guys, - saying you have a really good voice.
- That's a good thing.
- Good job.
- Thank you very much.
- See you later.
- Keep working.
That's been absolutely critical in getting them to feel like a choir and getting them to bond together.
And I can see trusts developing between them and little friendships and alliances.
All of that stuff is so important.
You only find that out in the performances.
In less than two months, the hospital choir will compete in Gareth's singing contest.
To prepare them, Gareth will need to set a new challenge.
But first, he wants to understand the impact the choir has had on staff.
- Hello, Gareth.
How are you? - All right.
How are you? - Not too bad.
- Good.
In Accident and Emergency, he meets up with consultant, Chidi.
Because we did the performance yesterday, did you get a A bit of a buzz out of that.
Yes, yeah.
You looked like you were.
I was beginning to get into it, yes.
Not so serious now.
Yeah, no definitely.
I think that's coming, but, I think it's It takes a while.
Especially if you come out of this environment.
- It's all human life is here, isn't it? - Yeah, um It's almost a bit of a split personality to it.
You've got to have your professional hat on.
So, we approach it clinically even though it's probably for your patients and their relatives it may the worst time of their life.
There may be things going on that will completely change the way in which they go forward.
But you've got to be somewhat detached clinically.
It's particularly hard when it's children.
- You've got kids, have you? - Yes, I've got three daughters.
- That separation must be very hard.
- Yes.
Do you go home and dream about it at times? Mmm Only occasionally.
Otherwise you're not going to be able to cope.
Yeah.
- A blue light.
Is that serious? - A blue light, yes.
You're blowing about 470, which is excellent.
When you go to your GP's, do they give you that flow meter to blow into? The orthopods are just going to have to run with it from here.
You take a lot of pride in your work? Yeah.
Very much so.
Um, it's one of the One of the few places where you can actually do something there and then - and save a life, and that's - That's amazing.
And you've done that how many thousands of times? And That's really what I'm in the job for.
I find that incredibly powerful.
I really do.
It's amazing.
- You better get on with this.
Carry on.
- Yeah.
It's really interesting.
Really interesting.
It's really made me evaluate what we have here.
You know, these people are working their guts out.
This is his daily life and he's given his life to help people to get better.
I think the choir's a chance for somebody like Chidi to show the personal side of what can be a very impersonal and difficult situation.
And I think we need that.
With a better understanding of the hospital, Gareth thinks he's found the perfect song to challenge them.
When they chose a song, they chose a very upbeat song to represent themselves.
And now it's my turn to choose a song and I've chosen something completely the opposite.
It's actually rather mournful, rather slow, rather beautiful.
And a rather sad song.
I absolutely know that they can sing this from a technical point of view.
The question is, can they sing it emotionally? It's exactly what I need from them for the next stage.
And that's difficult in a hospital actually, because there's a sort of rejection of emotion a lot of the time.
Or at least a need to contain it and deal with it.
And it needs that level of intensity.
And they live intense lives and are they prepared to put that into their singing? OK, so I think it's time for a new song.
- Don't you? Yay, it certainly is.
- Yeah.
We're going to perform to your colleagues, lots of them, in a couple of weeks.
To open your brand-new emergency department.
And the song that I've chosen for you is by R.
E.
M.
And it's Everybody Hurts.
It's a very emotional song and it's a beautiful song.
I was talking to Chidi earlier and he said that you have to develop this, he described it as a split personality, between your private life and your private feelings, about the work that you're doing and your professional role.
And I'm sure all of you, to some degree, have to do that.
I want to explore that through the song choice, because you are quite guarded at times.
OK, stand up.
Here we go.
A couple of "Hms" about the song.
Anyone anti? I don't particularly like it.
It's not that I don't like it.
It's just that it's not my kind of song.
Well, I think it will grow on you.
I think it's a grower.
Thank you very much.
You may go.
Good job.
I think he wants us to open up and be a bit more emotional, which is not what we're used to doing.
We train ourselves to keep a bit of a blank face and to hold in our emotions.
Some people find that quite hard.
I don't particularly, as I say, connect with the song especially.
But that doesn't matter.
This is about a contest.
It's about a competition.
There's a really weird atmosphere today.
It's really odd.
I don't know, I think it's this business about going for an emotional song.
It's like there's collective terror of emotion here.
I don't know if they're gonna get behind this song.
After a lukewarm response to Everybody Hurts Come and sit here.
Gareth hopes to win staff round as he searches for a soloist.
What I feel is that you are just very straight and you're perhaps not just Is that fear? I'm used to standing with a score like that, not moving and just singing.
Yes.
- Well, that's interesting.
- Just not used to - Emoting.
Hmm.
- Emoting at all.
This solo can't be too ordered.
It's not about going, one, two "When the day is long," three, four, and counting through all the beats.
It's about thinking about the words.
When the day is long and the night is yours alone and you think you've had enough of this life, well, hang on.
- Just hold my hand and sing it to me.
When you're sure I didn't think about the emotional thing at all.
I just tried to get the singing nice.
It's all about the emotion.
- Hello, how are you? - All right, thanks.
You all right? Come and stand here.
Good.
I'd describe it as a clinical performance.
Accurate, to the point.
Nice and precise, but a little lacking in feeling.
I don't particularly like this song.
I think it's a bit soppy and dirge-like.
Soppy and dirge-like.
Sentiment.
Revolting! I'm not averse to sentiment.
But I just think it's a bit mawkish, that's all.
- See you, bye.
- See you next time.
It's a real problem.
It's a problem for me and it's a problem for the choir that we're just gonna get these technically wonderful performances that are utterly controlled.
And, therefore, to my mind, dull.
I'm struggling.
Determined to find someone to convey the right emotion, Gareth continues his hospital round.
- So, I just do these bits for now? - Just that for now.
Meeting up with speech therapy assistant, Natalie.
- I can't.
- Oh, sorry.
No, it's all right.
Sorry.
It's got great meaning.
It really has.
- Hang on.
- Hang on.
Unfortunately, that one does touch me, in a good way.
Yeah.
I think there's a place for that, and I think people that I don't know, most of the time we think of as just being doctors and You don't see them as human, do you, when you come in? We all go home to our lives at the end of the day.
Like you said, sometimes it is hard because the two worlds do collide.
- Yeah.
- And that's why I'm in this job, so.
- Is it? - Yeah.
- My daughter's deaf.
- Oh, I see.
Yeah.
- Is she completely deaf? - Yes.
She's profoundly deaf.
- From birth? - Yes.
And, so that's inspired you to become a speech and language therapist because of - Yeah.
- But she's OK? - She's doing all right? - She's fine.
She wasn't and it's just that she's got there and it's true, there are times when we all hurt.
Hence, the song.
- Hence, the song.
- Yeah.
All right? Yeah.
Thank you.
- See you later.
Bye.
- Thanks, Natalie.
Well done.
Bye.
I don't think I can sing on my own.
But I enjoyed it, though, and I need to learn the words.
I felt really moved, actually.
I felt really moved when she sang.
And I feel really moved by her, and I find that very inspiring.
This is such an incredible place to work and it's only really dawning on me now just what they do and just how much sacrifice they make.
So, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to announce the soloist.
I wanted goose bumps.
I really did.
I wanted to feel the emotion of the song and I know some people struggled with this.
The person who really got it for me and I found just made me tingle was Natalie.
Come out! - Are you gonna sing it? - I'll try.
- Well done.
Round of applause.
Horrible pressure, but very well done.
So, here's your challenge, because next time I see you we will be building up to the performance.
If in between time you are able to meet in your sections, I think that would be really useful.
Everyone has got to learn it and knuckle down.
Get it absolutely right.
Good.
Good bye.
Thank you very much.
Natalie.
How are you? - Absolutely gobsmacked.
- Are you? Really well done.
- Thank you.
- Good, well done.
But you just need to practise it.
I will.
There's a couple of bits I'm not sure of.
Totally off by heart and no music, just like, you know, a performance.
I promise I'll prove to you I can do it.
Yes, I like that.
All right.
Brilliant.
- Thank you.
Well done.
- Thanks, Gareth.
It's now just a few weeks until the choir's workplace performance.
Natalie makes me believe that it is possible for the hospital to show its emotional side through singing.
I think they can do it, I really do.
If there's one person I really have to convince, it's Eddie, who's the surgeon, because he just embodies that sense of surgical precision and authority that I think I need to break down a bit.
- Mid rehearsal - Morning.
Gareth joins Eddie and the tenors.
I've come to offer my assistance.
How are we all? Two, and That's really nice.
That's really good.
Now we need to just put the inflection in as well.
Don't let yourself go.
Don't let yourself go.
Don't let yourself go! It's that feeling, yeah? Just a little bit more of that.
Honestly, it would really make a difference.
Don't let yourself go Really give it some.
How do you feel about it? People are still struggling to find a point at which they fully connect.
I'm sure it's something that we can do.
We have to work it out amongst ourselves.
Definitely.
I think it's a chance for you to show a bit of heart.
It's nothing to be scared of, you know.
It's just a chance to show a bit of care.
That's what we need.
I'll leave you with that one.
- Where are you at with it, Eddie? - With what? - Well, with the part.
- With what? With that song? Well, you know it's all right.
I know you want me to sort of be emotional and all the rest of it.
Well, I think I do, it's That's actually quite a difficult ask, actually.
I'm not criticising you for that.
But that's just the way it is.
And, um I hear exactly what you're saying.
It's the difference between doing something correctly and doing something in a performance way.
It's just nudging you a bit.
It's like I want the choir to be the sign at the front of the hospital that says, "Welcome here, it's a good, friendly place, you're gonna get a bit of care.
" Care is not, you know, let me hold your hand and, you know, snuggle you up.
For certain people, like myself and Chidi, for example, who's an A&E consultant, what we do is more Well, it is, you know, let's say it's rational, it's focussed.
And it's not about falling apart and blubbing.
It just isn't like that.
I know it's probably from your point of view only one percent of what's important is is how the person feels and all of that.
From the person's point of view, it's everything.
- No, it isn't.
- Well, it can feel like it, though.
It can feel like it at the time, but it isn't everything.
Hospitals come in for lots of criticism.
"Oh, they were uncaring, they didn't care about me.
" "Blah, blah, blah.
" That's bollocks, actually! That's absolute crap! OK, because it's all right me saying to you, "Oh, I really feel really emotional about you, and I really, really feel a great emotional attachment to you, but, sorry, I just cut your leg off when I didn't need to.
" It doesn't need to affect how you do your job.
No, of course not.
I fundamentally don't ever want to go and see a choir that doesn't sing with heart.
We just need a reason to sing, because, otherwise, it's just going to be meaningless.
- Yeah, well, we'll see what we can do.
- Yeah.
All right, thanks.
Really interesting.
Thank you.
See you later.
Yeah, see you later.
I respect Eddie so much for being able to go to work every day and save lives.
But I think that the choir ought to be a place where he can just, you know, feel safely, within the work environment.
God, this is peculiar! It's really peculiar and where else would you have this problem, but in a hospital and with a high-level surgeon.
It's really extraordinary.
As the workplace performance draws closer, the choir put in the practice.
As a hospital choir, you need to reach out a little bit more.
I'm putting quite a lot emotionally already, but I will try and put more emotion in.
Now I need that to dig in a bit more.
That's the hurt.
For me, the song's definitely emotional.
It definitely gets me to open up.
With Gareth here, he's been pushing us hard and it's been paying off.
Tenors, much softer.
Singing together we've really bonded a bit more, and so, people are letting themselves go.
Wow, that was fantastic! That's a very solid sound.
Well done.
It's the night before the performance.
- Hello.
- Hello, Gareth.
Gareth's catching up with soloist, Natalie, at home with her family.
- Hello.
- Hello.
What's your name? - My name's Amy.
- Hello, Amy.
How are you feeling about your solo? I think I've got so used to singing it, I'm not sure if I'm belting it a bit now.
Why was it special the first time? I know how it feels when you get told that your child is less than what you think at the time is, it's not perfect.
And so, to me, it's almost like when you feel you've had enough, just hang on, it'll be all right.
I just mean every word.
I still do.
But I just I don't know.
Tomorrow - Got to bring it back.
- Yeah.
I think it's really good for you to sing this in front of your family.
Yeah.
It would be at them anyway, because this song reminds me of some of the times that we've been through.
- Let's hear it.
- OK.
Sing it to you.
- Had enough.
- Had enough.
It's really lovely.
But why is it that when you get to that line - I really mean it.
- You mean it.
You don't mean when the day is long and the night is yours alone? I think now I'm in front of my family, I'm feeling them emotions again.
Where when I'm with the choir, it's easy to just do exactly what everybody else does.
It's almost like I'm holding back, because, as you know, I've never done anything like this before.
So, like, normally, I would just get my hands going.
- Well, do it.
Can you sign it? - Yeah.
Very good.
Good? - Mummy did the singing.
- Yeah.
- And she did it and wow-wow.
- Thank you.
- That's made me go now.
- Aw.
Thank you.
I really felt that.
I think that's really beautiful.
No, it's good.
It's really good.
- Well done.
- Ah.
I have confidence in Natalie.
I have confidence that she can pull off the emotion of this song, which isn't, let's face it, not easy.
Um I think that's gonna make the difference between a really flat performance and something that's really special.
The day of the workplace performance has finally arrived.
Welcome to the Emergency Department.
Come on in.
As the choir get their first chance to see the hospital's new A&E unit It smells so clean, doesn't it? they're unaware that Gareth has invited one of the three judges who will decide which choir will win the overall contest - renowned conductor, Manvinder Rattan.
The two things I'm really looking for from this choir are good vocal technique and strong presentation.
Presentation, actually, showing that they're enjoying themselves in front of their audience and communicating the message of what it is they're singing.
He will be hidden amongst the audience of family and work colleagues.
I can't wait to see Natalie sing today.
She woke up this morning and she went, "Mark, I am so scared.
" I said, "You can do it, Natalie.
Deep breaths.
" She'll be fine.
I know she will.
I am absolutely thrilled with your progress.
I think it's absolutely fantastic what you've done.
So, really give it your all.
If you haven't been doing before, I think you kind of have been in the last few rehearsals, but I think there's an extra gear to go from every one of you, so give it that and it'll really work.
I'm excited! Yes! The adrenaline's kicking in now.
Just wanna get in there and do it.
So, yeah, I'm really excited about it.
Every operation is a performance.
And, uh I'm used to people watching me do stuff.
So, from that point of view, pretty relaxed.
- Ready? - Yes.
- Hello! - Hello.
How exciting.
It's very good to be here and thank you very much for welcoming me into your hospital.
I have created the Lewisham NHS choir.
- And here they are.
The choir you see behind me, consists of a huge range of people who work for this organisation.
There's people out in the community.
There are surgeons, doctors, physiotherapists, nurses.
I think we've got pretty much the whole gamut.
And I think that's very, very important because this choir is going to go forward to compete in a contest against other British workplace choirs.
- Oooh! - Oh, yes.
We're going to sing a song for you that I've picked for them to sing.
I think it's particularly appropriate that we sing it here, in this brand, spanking new Emergency Department.
The song that they're going to sing is Everybody Hurts.
Because this is a place where everybody hurts.
Quite literally.
Pretty good, huh? - How did he do? - Oh, fantastic.
- That was great, wasn't it? - Oh, I'm so proud of you.
I had to hold back tears.
It was amazing.
- She did a great job.
- Hi.
Good? - You work with her? - She works with me, yes.
- What did you think? - I thought it was amazing.
It's a beautiful noise altogether, but you can still hear all the characters.
I could hear her right across the room.
Oh, really well done.
Gather round a bit.
I'm delighted.
That was really fantastic.
Who was moved? Oh, good.
Fantastic.
Look I I really was.
Eddie? What do I have to do? It was great.
So, what you didn't know was that there was somebody listening to your performance.
A conducted called Manvinder Rattan, who is a conductor of national note.
But, more importantly for you, he is one of the judges.
Ooh.
And he's going to come and give you some feedback.
- Oh.
- Right now.
Well, good evening.
You are really rather good.
There were some fantastic bits about that performance, as I say, of which you should be immensely proud.
But this is a contest.
And it's a contest between four choirs.
So you are going to need to drive yourselves quite hard if you want to make that final cut.
Think quite carefully about blending your voices and about blending the quality of the sound.
There are some of those quiet bits that can be quieter.
So, I'd like you to work on being a little bit more convincing about the story you're telling.
So, if it's something like Everybody Hurts, a look of careful thoughtfulness would work really, really well.
That's what's gonna make the difference between here and the next levels.
Congratulations and good luck.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
Absolutely fantastic feedback.
I just don't think I'm gonna ever feel better than this moment tonight.
I feel so emotional about the whole thing.
Many of the audience were moved by what we did.
Um So if we can add that to our performance and build on that, I think we can win.
I think all of us can make that step.
There were some absolutely stunning moments tonight.
I'm really excited to see what happens to this choir and whether they take this criticism, this constructive criticism, on the chin and they come back fighting and whether they improve.
The most interesting part of this contest is how they respond to everything that we're throwing at them.
The judge was absolutely right in what he said tonight.
It's now up to them to act on it.
January 2017
Gareth Malone wants to help Britain's workers find their voice.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm here to start a choir.
If you are at all interested, make yourself known to me.
In search of hidden talent, he wants to create choirs in four of Britain's busiest workplaces.
Are you a singer? What do you do? - Dig holes for a living, mate.
Yes, he does! And for the workers, company pride will be at stake when they compete to find Gareth's best workplace choir.
- Is everybody ready? Fighting spirit? - Yes.
Let's go and do it.
When I was learning to sing, it was through competing that I got better, and I want that for these choirs.
I want them to feel the pressure and get better.
Before the performance, I'll pray to God.
God, help us, this time! - Want to win it.
- Yeah.
And we're going to go hell for leather to win it.
Months and months of work and slog come down to that one moment when you're on stage.
That's why I love it.
Gareth Malone is on his way to one of London's busiest hospitals, Lewisham NHS Trust.
He wants to create the first of four choirs that will compete in his singing contest.
It is going to be a really interesting place to start a choir, because there's a wide variety of people working there.
Everyone has their own job, but they don't always come together.
You know, when does a porter sit with a surgeon and have a chat? When do they stand together as one and represent the hospital? I bet that never happens.
And The Choir is about bringing everyone together for one purpose, which is to sing and represent that company.
Cheers.
Lewisham NHS Trust has over 3,000 staff.
It deals with over 100,000 patients a year.
It's the NHS.
I'm in the queue.
Good morning.
I'm Gareth Malone, I'm here to start a choir.
- I think you've got a pass for me.
- Yes.
That's for you.
- Oh, great, thanks.
- And they've left you a map - A map.
as well.
Is it complicated? Oh, gosh.
Now, where shall I go first? - Erm That's the best place to start.
- The yellow zone.
Spread over 14 sites, and with over 200 departments, Gareth needs to create a choir that represents every part of the hospital.
The hospital actually functions like a series of little villages.
I don't know a lot of the clerical staff.
I don't know a lot of the admin staff, or even the nurses.
There are so many jobs in the hospital, honestly.
We just see people in the corridor and you go past.
We won't necessarily talk to you unless we have something to do with you.
To be honest, I can't figure out which way up this map goes.
To find the best voices, Gareth will be holding a series of open auditions.
Are you interested in being in a choir at all? - I'm starting a choir for the hospital.
- No, thanks.
No.
I'm rushing to do an assessment.
- I've got to get something to eat.
- Thank you very much.
No problem.
Right, the Anderson Delivery Suite.
Hello, Doctor.
Are you interested in being in a choir? No, I can't sing.
You can't sing.
Are you interested? I can come in between sections tomorrow in the morning possibly, but I can't give a definite time.
I don't think anyone has ever said that that they're gonna have to squeeze in the audition between Caesarean sections to me before.
That's a first.
- Are you interested in being in a choir? - A choir? It's for absolutely everyone who works here.
Yeah, I'd love to.
- Have you done some singing before? - Yeah.
- I'm Gareth.
- Derek.
Lovely to meet you.
What do you do here? - I'm a kitchen porter.
- I got a kind of kitchen vibe.
What sort of thing do you like to sing? Brilliant.
I want you to audition.
- Thanks.
Bye-bye.
- OK, bye-bye.
Take care.
Over the next two days, Gareth auditions over 120 staff.
- I'm really scared.
- Yeah.
- Got a real dry throat now.
- Yeah, I know.
- I haven't practiced.
- I had a cold.
I'm still coughing.
He's looking for the 30 strongest voices from across the hospital.
Hello.
Who's nervous? I bet everyone.
Great.
This is about taking the best of this hospital and then bringing it together.
I want those people who are absolutely top notch.
Come and have a seat here.
- Good afternoon.
- Good afternoon.
And welcome to your audition.
We are here to create a choir for your hospital that is excellent.
We're going to have to hear everybody sing individually.
And I know that's slightly scary and alarming.
We are going to start with Aaron.
- Let's hear your singing voice.
That is a bass.
Okay.
Well done.
Very good.
Natalie, here we go.
Sorry.
Sorry.
- Sorry.
Frog.
- Frog.
- I think we could go up, don't you? - Yes.
Let's do it then.
Let's go up again, please.
I'm still shaking, because I'm so shocked at what Gareth was able to get me to do with my voice.
I enjoyed myself.
I was happy I was at the back, I was well hidden, so no-one could see me.
I doubt I'll get in though.
As the staff keep coming Gareth takes his pick.
From female altos and sopranos to male basses and tenors.
Fantastic.
Chidi, we need to work on the serious expression.
Do you do a very serious job? - Um, in A&E.
- He's an A&E consultant, yes.
A&E consultant.
Yeah, that sounds pretty serious.
- Eddie, what do you do? - I'm a surgeon.
- I stop people bleeding to death.
- OK, good.
I just find it amusing that you said, "Makes the medicine go down," because that's like Well, I'm a surgeon.
People do what I tell them.
Right peddle to my right foot.
Not yet.
My job title, I'm a consultant vascular surgeon, which basically means I operate on people's blood pipes.
As I say to my mates at the rugby club, I'm a posh plumber.
Basically, when you're a consultant surgeon, the buck stops with me for everything that happens to the patients under my care.
In theatre, everyone knows how I like things done.
They also know that if they're not done that way, I'll get pretty cross about it.
You'll feel a bit of pressure in your leg now.
I don't find it stressful, unless things are not done the way I want them.
- Well done.
Thank you.
Thank you, Eddie.
OK, Joe.
OK, what do you do here? - I'm an anaesthetist.
- Anaesthetist.
- Do you work together? - Occasionally, but he probably doesn't recognise me because I'm quite junior.
- Ah.
Is it all right for you to be sat next to him? I'm a little bit tense, but I'm OK.
Eddie, would you like me to move him somewhere else? No, I'm fine.
He's more likely to be nervous than me.
No, that's good, yeah.
Eddie looks very well.
Joe, every reason to be terrified.
Let's hear you.
Head for the hills.
Well done.
Thank you.
Well done.
That was good.
There's some pretty good voices in there.
I think it's gonna do a lot of good.
The fact they were in that session, you had people that had never met.
An anaesthetist that would never have spoken to the surgeon.
The surgeon was sat right next to him in the choir.
Actually, it was the junior member of staff who was the better singer.
So, it's great.
It's a great leveller.
Auditions over, it's decision time for Gareth.
Right, he's good.
He's definitely in.
He wants a cross section of the hospital, but also needs the best voices to represent Lewisham in the contest.
He's a staff nurse.
He wasn't bad.
He'd a good, light sound, but I think he might But what a spread of the hospital.
It's amazing.
I've got an anaesthetist, a surgeon.
I've got ENT.
I've got language therapy.
I've got physiotherapists coming out of my ears.
I've got a really good range.
Nurses, everybody.
Feels really good.
The next morning Gareth's back to break the good news of who's in.
- Are you busy? - Yeah, just a little bit.
I want to say well done and I'd like you to be in the choir.
- Oh, thank you very much.
- You're welcome.
- Thank you very much.
Excited! - Yeah? - Sarah.
- Yes.
- You did very well in your audition.
- Thank you.
- I'd like you to be in the choir.
- Oh, my God! - Guess what, I got in.
- Yeah! - Hello, Natalie.
How are you? - I'm fine.
We'd like you to be in the choir.
Oh, my God.
And now it's time for some singing.
Natalie Beaumont is a speech therapy assistant for the trust.
I work with children with a language delay and I work with deaf children.
It's just the most moving job ever.
Don't look.
Pick one.
What's that? - A star! - Go! A lot of people see me as quite a strong person.
I don't see myself as that.
I see myself as quite under-confident.
I was bullied at school.
I think that's probably why I never ever wanted to go and sing in public.
And although I do it in my job here, again it's behind closed doors.
Oh! Well done! I feel like I've almost come out of the closet.
My secret's out.
I like to sing.
Lunchtime at the hospital.
Hello, ladies.
Hi, hello.
Taking a break from busy shifts, Gareth's handpicked singers arrive for their first ever rehearsal.
Welcome to the choir.
Very good.
I'd like to remind you that you are now in a contest.
This is going to get exciting.
It's going to be a lot of fun.
It is about bringing the hospital together, but now we have to really come together as a unit.
I suspect a lot of you haven't even seen each other before.
Oh, that's great.
Ah, the surgeon and the porter.
Brilliant.
So, we need a song that best represents the hospital.
That sums up what you do here.
Yes.
I've had an idea.
Well, the closest one I could get to what I do is If You Want Blood By AC/DC.
But I don't think it's Hands up in favour of that.
I've had a really good idea.
Any others? - Sorry? - The Drugs Don't Work.
- The Drugs Don't Work.
- Any other gems? Natalie, yeah.
- Come On Get Happy, by Judy Garland.
Everybody should be happy.
- You don't want anything depressing? - No.
- Not for your first song, no.
- Lean On Me.
- Lean On Me.
I've always Do you all know that? Can we hear this? - Can we all sing that? That's quite good, actually.
And coming out of your mouths, it sort of worked.
I've never really been into that song, but hearing a group of people in the medical profession say, "Lean on me," it's quite moving, actually.
- I had a little bit of a tingle there.
All those in favour of Lean On Me.
Ooh! I think it's Lean On Me.
But what would be quite interesting with this is just to do a There we go.
Well done.
Give yourselves a round of applause.
That was really fantastic, actually.
The first rehearsal sound was very promising.
I'm desperately competitive and I can't see a competition or a contest without wanting to be in it.
And if I'm in it, I want to win it.
To become a consultant you do need to have a little bit of a push about you.
I see myself as a somewhat competitive person and I definitely want us to win.
It's gonna take a little while before I think that I'm able to, you know, fully relax and fully open up to this whole singing thing.
It's so fascinating to see the different parts of the hospital coming together.
All of the porters looked a little bit nervous and like, "Do we really belong here?" The surgeons feel like they belong here, because they are central to what the hospital does.
It's amazing, actually, how much lack of confidence there is amongst them and a lot of them haven't sung before in choirs, and yet, a great sound is emerging.
Really, really excited about this.
Over the following weeks, to help get the choir to contest standards, Gareth arranges for them to have additional rehearsal sessions with a local choir master.
And Good.
On his next visit - How are you? - Good, thank you.
I've come to see you.
Gareth spends time with some of the non-medical staff.
Wandering about just, um, having a quick session with you, just to build up your confidence a bit.
Meeting up with pharmacy porter, Aaron.
- What are you used to doing, music-wise? - Just doing a bit of rapping.
Really? Could you give me a demonstration? You're breathing in the wrong place.
Now lie on the floor.
I know it seems weird.
OK, so shove that on your stomach.
There we are.
Now, try and the bottle to rise up when you breathe in.
There you go.
Try and do that on an "Ah", so you go, "Ah" Ah - Yawn.
It's great.
It's really good.
I felt like I was actually, using something actually down there.
Yeah.
You speak in a very soft way.
I think what we need is, like, - the confident Aaron.
- Yeah.
- Yeah? - Yeah, I suppose.
Yeah? I don't know.
I think that after a while I should get the confidence.
Obviously, it's all different for me.
It's new for me.
I think eventually How do you feel about being stood next to people who are, you know, from a totally different part of the hospital? That's different.
That's quite good, actually, because they're usually you know, there's levels.
Not the you know, but there is levels.
There's this, that, doctors Everyone mixes with their own levels.
You get what I'm saying? I think the choir should make you feel like you are equally as part of the hospital as the next person, even if they are a general surgeon.
Yeah, it's gonna take a while though, because the levels, they're difficult to break down.
But, yeah, I'm feeling it a little bit.
You're doing well.
Thank you for that.
It was great.
- See you around.
- See you later.
A few days later How often do you all leave the hospital together? Never.
Great.
Well, it's a first.
Come on, let's get on board.
To help the choir bond, Gareth arranges a social night out.
Welcome to the boat.
The reason I've brought you on this boat is so that absolutely no-one can get off.
Nobody can get paged, nobody can get called away.
Cheers.
- You know each other already, don't you? - No, I know Sophia.
Yeah.
I don't know anyone.
- You're a physio? - I'm a physio.
- You never talk to junior doctors? - But we're on different floors.
I don't think we have ever really done anything that's built us all together.
We're all getting to know what everyone does, I think.
And then we can kind of join together and win.
And win.
That'll be great.
When I started work, they said, "OK, Mr Chaloner's here, and he likes a few certain things and just don't piss him off, basically, or he'll kick you straight out of theatre.
" Everyone knows where we stand.
We're doing it my way.
That's it.
I'm gonna learn a lot from you, I think.
It's been absolutely fantastic.
I think everyone's getting to know each other.
It's a really good atmosphere.
And I think they like each other, but, my goodness, there's so much stiffness and difficulty between them, because of this hospital hierarchy.
Um, and we've got some very senior people in this choir.
So, I think we need to loosen them up a bit and break that down.
This has been a great start, but there's more to do.
Guys, come outside, it's Tower Bridge.
Come out, it's great.
Right, everyone.
Shall we do a bit of a sing-song? How's that? One, two A few weeks later, Gareth is on his way back to the hospital.
I'm really happy with how they've come together.
They're starting to bond.
In the contest, the choir's going to be judged on how much they're a unit, on how much the sound blends together.
And if you're not a totally united force, then that can't really work.
So they're going to have to bond further.
And I think it's only through performing that you really understand that.
So, I need to get them out.
- Hello, everyone.
- Hello.
How are you? Awesome, yeah? Let's have a quick listen to Lean On Me.
I'd like to get this one licked today.
Let's just get it done.
Done and dusted.
Can I hear the sopranos on your own? Two, three, and Yeah, good.
That's it, isn't it? Can I just check those harmonies? Can I hear basses and tenors on top of that? Two, three It's quite hard, isn't it? Can you just turn in to face Eddie? And sing it to him.
Just do what you do freestyle.
OK, now sing it.
Unaccompanied.
One, two, three.
I think that's excellent.
And I think that it is time that you performed it, in front of a group of patients.
- Yeah! - Yeah? And I'd like us to do it right now.
Let's go.
I am nervous, because I don't know how we're going to sound out there.
This is our first outing.
Just scared I'm gonna do it wrong.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
It's medicine of a very different kind today.
It's musical medicine from the first performance of the newly formed Lewisham Hospital staff choir.
Everyone behind me works in the hospital and they have all got together and they're going to sing for you.
It's a lovely surprise.
For a first performance, I mean, it was lovely.
The choir was fantastic.
Lewisham is a very good hospital and everybody works so hard to keep us going.
Well done.
How are you feeling? - Good.
- Pretty good? It felt really nice and really appropriate to go and perform for patients.
It was a soft audience, wasn't it? Officially, I give you the rubber stamp.
You're a choir.
- Very well done.
Did you enjoy it? - Enjoyed it very much.
The thing that you taught me earlier, I've been I was actually applying that today.
I was using it and it did help.
I've been getting good reviews about you from the other guys, - saying you have a really good voice.
- That's a good thing.
- Good job.
- Thank you very much.
- See you later.
- Keep working.
That's been absolutely critical in getting them to feel like a choir and getting them to bond together.
And I can see trusts developing between them and little friendships and alliances.
All of that stuff is so important.
You only find that out in the performances.
In less than two months, the hospital choir will compete in Gareth's singing contest.
To prepare them, Gareth will need to set a new challenge.
But first, he wants to understand the impact the choir has had on staff.
- Hello, Gareth.
How are you? - All right.
How are you? - Not too bad.
- Good.
In Accident and Emergency, he meets up with consultant, Chidi.
Because we did the performance yesterday, did you get a A bit of a buzz out of that.
Yes, yeah.
You looked like you were.
I was beginning to get into it, yes.
Not so serious now.
Yeah, no definitely.
I think that's coming, but, I think it's It takes a while.
Especially if you come out of this environment.
- It's all human life is here, isn't it? - Yeah, um It's almost a bit of a split personality to it.
You've got to have your professional hat on.
So, we approach it clinically even though it's probably for your patients and their relatives it may the worst time of their life.
There may be things going on that will completely change the way in which they go forward.
But you've got to be somewhat detached clinically.
It's particularly hard when it's children.
- You've got kids, have you? - Yes, I've got three daughters.
- That separation must be very hard.
- Yes.
Do you go home and dream about it at times? Mmm Only occasionally.
Otherwise you're not going to be able to cope.
Yeah.
- A blue light.
Is that serious? - A blue light, yes.
You're blowing about 470, which is excellent.
When you go to your GP's, do they give you that flow meter to blow into? The orthopods are just going to have to run with it from here.
You take a lot of pride in your work? Yeah.
Very much so.
Um, it's one of the One of the few places where you can actually do something there and then - and save a life, and that's - That's amazing.
And you've done that how many thousands of times? And That's really what I'm in the job for.
I find that incredibly powerful.
I really do.
It's amazing.
- You better get on with this.
Carry on.
- Yeah.
It's really interesting.
Really interesting.
It's really made me evaluate what we have here.
You know, these people are working their guts out.
This is his daily life and he's given his life to help people to get better.
I think the choir's a chance for somebody like Chidi to show the personal side of what can be a very impersonal and difficult situation.
And I think we need that.
With a better understanding of the hospital, Gareth thinks he's found the perfect song to challenge them.
When they chose a song, they chose a very upbeat song to represent themselves.
And now it's my turn to choose a song and I've chosen something completely the opposite.
It's actually rather mournful, rather slow, rather beautiful.
And a rather sad song.
I absolutely know that they can sing this from a technical point of view.
The question is, can they sing it emotionally? It's exactly what I need from them for the next stage.
And that's difficult in a hospital actually, because there's a sort of rejection of emotion a lot of the time.
Or at least a need to contain it and deal with it.
And it needs that level of intensity.
And they live intense lives and are they prepared to put that into their singing? OK, so I think it's time for a new song.
- Don't you? Yay, it certainly is.
- Yeah.
We're going to perform to your colleagues, lots of them, in a couple of weeks.
To open your brand-new emergency department.
And the song that I've chosen for you is by R.
E.
M.
And it's Everybody Hurts.
It's a very emotional song and it's a beautiful song.
I was talking to Chidi earlier and he said that you have to develop this, he described it as a split personality, between your private life and your private feelings, about the work that you're doing and your professional role.
And I'm sure all of you, to some degree, have to do that.
I want to explore that through the song choice, because you are quite guarded at times.
OK, stand up.
Here we go.
A couple of "Hms" about the song.
Anyone anti? I don't particularly like it.
It's not that I don't like it.
It's just that it's not my kind of song.
Well, I think it will grow on you.
I think it's a grower.
Thank you very much.
You may go.
Good job.
I think he wants us to open up and be a bit more emotional, which is not what we're used to doing.
We train ourselves to keep a bit of a blank face and to hold in our emotions.
Some people find that quite hard.
I don't particularly, as I say, connect with the song especially.
But that doesn't matter.
This is about a contest.
It's about a competition.
There's a really weird atmosphere today.
It's really odd.
I don't know, I think it's this business about going for an emotional song.
It's like there's collective terror of emotion here.
I don't know if they're gonna get behind this song.
After a lukewarm response to Everybody Hurts Come and sit here.
Gareth hopes to win staff round as he searches for a soloist.
What I feel is that you are just very straight and you're perhaps not just Is that fear? I'm used to standing with a score like that, not moving and just singing.
Yes.
- Well, that's interesting.
- Just not used to - Emoting.
Hmm.
- Emoting at all.
This solo can't be too ordered.
It's not about going, one, two "When the day is long," three, four, and counting through all the beats.
It's about thinking about the words.
When the day is long and the night is yours alone and you think you've had enough of this life, well, hang on.
- Just hold my hand and sing it to me.
When you're sure I didn't think about the emotional thing at all.
I just tried to get the singing nice.
It's all about the emotion.
- Hello, how are you? - All right, thanks.
You all right? Come and stand here.
Good.
I'd describe it as a clinical performance.
Accurate, to the point.
Nice and precise, but a little lacking in feeling.
I don't particularly like this song.
I think it's a bit soppy and dirge-like.
Soppy and dirge-like.
Sentiment.
Revolting! I'm not averse to sentiment.
But I just think it's a bit mawkish, that's all.
- See you, bye.
- See you next time.
It's a real problem.
It's a problem for me and it's a problem for the choir that we're just gonna get these technically wonderful performances that are utterly controlled.
And, therefore, to my mind, dull.
I'm struggling.
Determined to find someone to convey the right emotion, Gareth continues his hospital round.
- So, I just do these bits for now? - Just that for now.
Meeting up with speech therapy assistant, Natalie.
- I can't.
- Oh, sorry.
No, it's all right.
Sorry.
It's got great meaning.
It really has.
- Hang on.
- Hang on.
Unfortunately, that one does touch me, in a good way.
Yeah.
I think there's a place for that, and I think people that I don't know, most of the time we think of as just being doctors and You don't see them as human, do you, when you come in? We all go home to our lives at the end of the day.
Like you said, sometimes it is hard because the two worlds do collide.
- Yeah.
- And that's why I'm in this job, so.
- Is it? - Yeah.
- My daughter's deaf.
- Oh, I see.
Yeah.
- Is she completely deaf? - Yes.
She's profoundly deaf.
- From birth? - Yes.
And, so that's inspired you to become a speech and language therapist because of - Yeah.
- But she's OK? - She's doing all right? - She's fine.
She wasn't and it's just that she's got there and it's true, there are times when we all hurt.
Hence, the song.
- Hence, the song.
- Yeah.
All right? Yeah.
Thank you.
- See you later.
Bye.
- Thanks, Natalie.
Well done.
Bye.
I don't think I can sing on my own.
But I enjoyed it, though, and I need to learn the words.
I felt really moved, actually.
I felt really moved when she sang.
And I feel really moved by her, and I find that very inspiring.
This is such an incredible place to work and it's only really dawning on me now just what they do and just how much sacrifice they make.
So, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to announce the soloist.
I wanted goose bumps.
I really did.
I wanted to feel the emotion of the song and I know some people struggled with this.
The person who really got it for me and I found just made me tingle was Natalie.
Come out! - Are you gonna sing it? - I'll try.
- Well done.
Round of applause.
Horrible pressure, but very well done.
So, here's your challenge, because next time I see you we will be building up to the performance.
If in between time you are able to meet in your sections, I think that would be really useful.
Everyone has got to learn it and knuckle down.
Get it absolutely right.
Good.
Good bye.
Thank you very much.
Natalie.
How are you? - Absolutely gobsmacked.
- Are you? Really well done.
- Thank you.
- Good, well done.
But you just need to practise it.
I will.
There's a couple of bits I'm not sure of.
Totally off by heart and no music, just like, you know, a performance.
I promise I'll prove to you I can do it.
Yes, I like that.
All right.
Brilliant.
- Thank you.
Well done.
- Thanks, Gareth.
It's now just a few weeks until the choir's workplace performance.
Natalie makes me believe that it is possible for the hospital to show its emotional side through singing.
I think they can do it, I really do.
If there's one person I really have to convince, it's Eddie, who's the surgeon, because he just embodies that sense of surgical precision and authority that I think I need to break down a bit.
- Mid rehearsal - Morning.
Gareth joins Eddie and the tenors.
I've come to offer my assistance.
How are we all? Two, and That's really nice.
That's really good.
Now we need to just put the inflection in as well.
Don't let yourself go.
Don't let yourself go.
Don't let yourself go! It's that feeling, yeah? Just a little bit more of that.
Honestly, it would really make a difference.
Don't let yourself go Really give it some.
How do you feel about it? People are still struggling to find a point at which they fully connect.
I'm sure it's something that we can do.
We have to work it out amongst ourselves.
Definitely.
I think it's a chance for you to show a bit of heart.
It's nothing to be scared of, you know.
It's just a chance to show a bit of care.
That's what we need.
I'll leave you with that one.
- Where are you at with it, Eddie? - With what? - Well, with the part.
- With what? With that song? Well, you know it's all right.
I know you want me to sort of be emotional and all the rest of it.
Well, I think I do, it's That's actually quite a difficult ask, actually.
I'm not criticising you for that.
But that's just the way it is.
And, um I hear exactly what you're saying.
It's the difference between doing something correctly and doing something in a performance way.
It's just nudging you a bit.
It's like I want the choir to be the sign at the front of the hospital that says, "Welcome here, it's a good, friendly place, you're gonna get a bit of care.
" Care is not, you know, let me hold your hand and, you know, snuggle you up.
For certain people, like myself and Chidi, for example, who's an A&E consultant, what we do is more Well, it is, you know, let's say it's rational, it's focussed.
And it's not about falling apart and blubbing.
It just isn't like that.
I know it's probably from your point of view only one percent of what's important is is how the person feels and all of that.
From the person's point of view, it's everything.
- No, it isn't.
- Well, it can feel like it, though.
It can feel like it at the time, but it isn't everything.
Hospitals come in for lots of criticism.
"Oh, they were uncaring, they didn't care about me.
" "Blah, blah, blah.
" That's bollocks, actually! That's absolute crap! OK, because it's all right me saying to you, "Oh, I really feel really emotional about you, and I really, really feel a great emotional attachment to you, but, sorry, I just cut your leg off when I didn't need to.
" It doesn't need to affect how you do your job.
No, of course not.
I fundamentally don't ever want to go and see a choir that doesn't sing with heart.
We just need a reason to sing, because, otherwise, it's just going to be meaningless.
- Yeah, well, we'll see what we can do.
- Yeah.
All right, thanks.
Really interesting.
Thank you.
See you later.
Yeah, see you later.
I respect Eddie so much for being able to go to work every day and save lives.
But I think that the choir ought to be a place where he can just, you know, feel safely, within the work environment.
God, this is peculiar! It's really peculiar and where else would you have this problem, but in a hospital and with a high-level surgeon.
It's really extraordinary.
As the workplace performance draws closer, the choir put in the practice.
As a hospital choir, you need to reach out a little bit more.
I'm putting quite a lot emotionally already, but I will try and put more emotion in.
Now I need that to dig in a bit more.
That's the hurt.
For me, the song's definitely emotional.
It definitely gets me to open up.
With Gareth here, he's been pushing us hard and it's been paying off.
Tenors, much softer.
Singing together we've really bonded a bit more, and so, people are letting themselves go.
Wow, that was fantastic! That's a very solid sound.
Well done.
It's the night before the performance.
- Hello.
- Hello, Gareth.
Gareth's catching up with soloist, Natalie, at home with her family.
- Hello.
- Hello.
What's your name? - My name's Amy.
- Hello, Amy.
How are you feeling about your solo? I think I've got so used to singing it, I'm not sure if I'm belting it a bit now.
Why was it special the first time? I know how it feels when you get told that your child is less than what you think at the time is, it's not perfect.
And so, to me, it's almost like when you feel you've had enough, just hang on, it'll be all right.
I just mean every word.
I still do.
But I just I don't know.
Tomorrow - Got to bring it back.
- Yeah.
I think it's really good for you to sing this in front of your family.
Yeah.
It would be at them anyway, because this song reminds me of some of the times that we've been through.
- Let's hear it.
- OK.
Sing it to you.
- Had enough.
- Had enough.
It's really lovely.
But why is it that when you get to that line - I really mean it.
- You mean it.
You don't mean when the day is long and the night is yours alone? I think now I'm in front of my family, I'm feeling them emotions again.
Where when I'm with the choir, it's easy to just do exactly what everybody else does.
It's almost like I'm holding back, because, as you know, I've never done anything like this before.
So, like, normally, I would just get my hands going.
- Well, do it.
Can you sign it? - Yeah.
Very good.
Good? - Mummy did the singing.
- Yeah.
- And she did it and wow-wow.
- Thank you.
- That's made me go now.
- Aw.
Thank you.
I really felt that.
I think that's really beautiful.
No, it's good.
It's really good.
- Well done.
- Ah.
I have confidence in Natalie.
I have confidence that she can pull off the emotion of this song, which isn't, let's face it, not easy.
Um I think that's gonna make the difference between a really flat performance and something that's really special.
The day of the workplace performance has finally arrived.
Welcome to the Emergency Department.
Come on in.
As the choir get their first chance to see the hospital's new A&E unit It smells so clean, doesn't it? they're unaware that Gareth has invited one of the three judges who will decide which choir will win the overall contest - renowned conductor, Manvinder Rattan.
The two things I'm really looking for from this choir are good vocal technique and strong presentation.
Presentation, actually, showing that they're enjoying themselves in front of their audience and communicating the message of what it is they're singing.
He will be hidden amongst the audience of family and work colleagues.
I can't wait to see Natalie sing today.
She woke up this morning and she went, "Mark, I am so scared.
" I said, "You can do it, Natalie.
Deep breaths.
" She'll be fine.
I know she will.
I am absolutely thrilled with your progress.
I think it's absolutely fantastic what you've done.
So, really give it your all.
If you haven't been doing before, I think you kind of have been in the last few rehearsals, but I think there's an extra gear to go from every one of you, so give it that and it'll really work.
I'm excited! Yes! The adrenaline's kicking in now.
Just wanna get in there and do it.
So, yeah, I'm really excited about it.
Every operation is a performance.
And, uh I'm used to people watching me do stuff.
So, from that point of view, pretty relaxed.
- Ready? - Yes.
- Hello! - Hello.
How exciting.
It's very good to be here and thank you very much for welcoming me into your hospital.
I have created the Lewisham NHS choir.
- And here they are.
The choir you see behind me, consists of a huge range of people who work for this organisation.
There's people out in the community.
There are surgeons, doctors, physiotherapists, nurses.
I think we've got pretty much the whole gamut.
And I think that's very, very important because this choir is going to go forward to compete in a contest against other British workplace choirs.
- Oooh! - Oh, yes.
We're going to sing a song for you that I've picked for them to sing.
I think it's particularly appropriate that we sing it here, in this brand, spanking new Emergency Department.
The song that they're going to sing is Everybody Hurts.
Because this is a place where everybody hurts.
Quite literally.
Pretty good, huh? - How did he do? - Oh, fantastic.
- That was great, wasn't it? - Oh, I'm so proud of you.
I had to hold back tears.
It was amazing.
- She did a great job.
- Hi.
Good? - You work with her? - She works with me, yes.
- What did you think? - I thought it was amazing.
It's a beautiful noise altogether, but you can still hear all the characters.
I could hear her right across the room.
Oh, really well done.
Gather round a bit.
I'm delighted.
That was really fantastic.
Who was moved? Oh, good.
Fantastic.
Look I I really was.
Eddie? What do I have to do? It was great.
So, what you didn't know was that there was somebody listening to your performance.
A conducted called Manvinder Rattan, who is a conductor of national note.
But, more importantly for you, he is one of the judges.
Ooh.
And he's going to come and give you some feedback.
- Oh.
- Right now.
Well, good evening.
You are really rather good.
There were some fantastic bits about that performance, as I say, of which you should be immensely proud.
But this is a contest.
And it's a contest between four choirs.
So you are going to need to drive yourselves quite hard if you want to make that final cut.
Think quite carefully about blending your voices and about blending the quality of the sound.
There are some of those quiet bits that can be quieter.
So, I'd like you to work on being a little bit more convincing about the story you're telling.
So, if it's something like Everybody Hurts, a look of careful thoughtfulness would work really, really well.
That's what's gonna make the difference between here and the next levels.
Congratulations and good luck.
- Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
Absolutely fantastic feedback.
I just don't think I'm gonna ever feel better than this moment tonight.
I feel so emotional about the whole thing.
Many of the audience were moved by what we did.
Um So if we can add that to our performance and build on that, I think we can win.
I think all of us can make that step.
There were some absolutely stunning moments tonight.
I'm really excited to see what happens to this choir and whether they take this criticism, this constructive criticism, on the chin and they come back fighting and whether they improve.
The most interesting part of this contest is how they respond to everything that we're throwing at them.
The judge was absolutely right in what he said tonight.
It's now up to them to act on it.
January 2017