PERFORMERS from four hit West-End shows have been lined up for Canvey’s eight-hour musical extravaganza this summer.
 

Cast members from Oliver, Glee, Les Miserables and Wicked will be heading to the Lobster Smack Pub in Haven Road, Canvey on August 25 as part of the Combined Disability Services’ charity music festival.
 

They will be donning their costumes and entertaining audiences in four 30-minute sets taken from the stage shows to raise vital funds for four voluntary organisations.
 

Nine local bands will also be showcasing their talents at the free event.
 

The festival is being held in memory of Canvey-born musical theatre performer, Linda Kendrick, who died in 2010 from pneumonia, aged 58.
 

Antony Thorne, from CDS, said: “Things are going really well. Now we’re getting closer to the time we are getting a lot more interest so hopefully there should be a good turnout. We were first set up to hold discos for young disabled people, and we have held events at the pub before, but we just wanted to take it to the next level this year and make it bigger and better than ever.
 

“Not only that but it’s the 60th anniversary of the flood this year and when all the troops finished rebuilding Canvey after the disaster they held a music event, so it seems fitting to do the same 60 years on.”
 

The event will kick off at 10am with a sponsored walk from the Monico Pub in Eastern Esplanade to the Lobster Smack.
 

The music will then start at 12pm and run until 8pm.
 

Children will also be able to enjoy a mini fun fair and bouncy castles.
 

Funds raised on the day will be split between Business Opportunities for the Physically Handicapped, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Jennifer Trust and the Mushroom Troupe.
 

Mr Thorne added: “All these charities are such worthy causes so hopefully people will dig deep.”
 

For more information contact 01268 475123.