Community
4 July, 2025
Serenata to bring festive feels early
AS the weather turns colder, residents are being invited to come together at the Theatre Royal in Camperdown for a special performance.
Serenata’s Demby McKenzie will be directing a ‘Christmas in July’ performance later this month, singing alongside family members Toby, Madidi and Matea McKenzie.
He said the idea came from a family tradition he experienced growing up.
“Christmas in July was something we as a family used to do every year, and I guess it’s a good excuse to get together and do something at a time when it’s a little bit dull outside,” Mr McKenzie said.
“It’s just a really good excuse to celebrate something when there’s not too much to celebrate.
“Our February concert was really successful, and we had a lot of feedback from people wondering why we hadn’t done it before and a lot of people asking when the next one was.
“People were so motivated to support things like that run by community members that is pure entertainment, gets people together and something that is shared nostalgia.
“It’s as close to a professional-level production as we get around here without having to pay for the train ticket or the car ride and the ticket costs.”
While there will be some festive tunes on offer, the theme of the performance is 1954, which was the year the film ‘White Christmas’ was released.
Mr McKenzie said he also chose 1954 as the theme as he considered that year the “golden age of cinema and the golden age of theatre”.
“The idea I’m going for is that it’s not going to be a carols performance – it’s going to be what the radio might had sounded like around Christmas time in 1954,” he said.
“You’ve got a lot of popular songs from 1954 – ‘Singing in the rain’ was released a couple of years before, and a lot of Christmas songs from ‘White Christmas’ and Christmas songs from the likes of Bing Crosby and Doris Day.”
The McKenzie family will be supported musically by Nikki McKenzie on piano and violinist and Serenata founding member Matthew Lim.
“It’ll be the first concert in Camperdown that Matthew Lim is able to be a part of – he’s a founding member of Serenata, and a professionally trained violinist from Melbourne,” Mr McKenzie said.
“He was raised in Warrnambool his whole life and I’m so thrilled he’s available to come down for this concert.”
Two performances will be held – one on Saturday, July 19 from 7pm and one on Sunday, July 20 from 3pm.
Adult entry is $35 per person, while child tickets are $15.
“I hope people come away renewed with some community spirit, knowing what people in our area are capable of doing, and come away with a mind to support things like that in the future – especially at the theatre, which is such an amazing venue that I think is underutilised,” Mr McKenzie said.
Read More: Camperdown