Miss Saigon
The Young Performers
The Duchess Theatre
June 20th 2013

Tonight at the Duchess Theatre, The Young Performers production of Miss Saigon (Schools Edition) has taken Youth Theatre to a whole new level! From start to finish this show blurred the lines between adult and youth and amateur and professional.

The resident youth group have obviously worked very hard on this show, which is challenging for adults let alone young people.

Miss Saigon is set in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War as the US army is withdrawing its troops.

The lead role of Kim, a 17 year-old Vietnamese orphan who falls in love with an American G.I, is played wonderfully by Laura Davey. Taking on a very demanding role, she combines a beautiful voice with an intensity of acting that is rarely seen off the professional stage. Her interpretation of the role is outstanding and throughout the show brought many audience members to tears.

Curtis Salmon, a long standing member of the group, plays Chris, a marine serving a tour of duty in Vietnam. In this very difficult role he convinces the audience he is falling in love with Kim with touching sincerity. He sings the part well and is a very accomplished actor. As the story unfolds, the anguish he conveys dealing with his return from war and the circumstances in which he now finds himself, is heart-wrenching. It must be said that casting Laura and Curtis in their respective roles was just right as the chemistry between them is obvious and natural.

His new wife, Ellen, played by Aishah Mehmet, attempts to rebuild a war-torn Chris. In this challenging role, she displayed a maturity well beyond her years. As Ellen and Kim sing from different sides of the world, we could not help but be moved by the desperateness of their situation.

John, Chris’ marine buddy, was played very well by Zak Charlesworth. A marine turned Bui-Doi charity worker, John seeks to find an acceptable solution for all parties. At only 15 years old, Zak plays this role with huge authority and his rousing rendition of ‘Bui-Doi’ at the start of the second act was very moving. He has a great singing voice and is already an accomplished actor. He is also very believable in the role. He had some difficult solo and group songs in the show, which he sang very well indeed.

Tom Etherington plays Thuy, a Commissar in the North Vietnamese army who has been promised Kim’s hand in marriage. He gave a very competent and affecting performance, suffering the ultimate sacrifice for his efforts.

Inevitably, the plot line is very intense, so it is a welcome relief when The Engineer arrives on stage. Matthew Biddulph, well-known as a talented performer in this and other youth groups, plays the role brilliantly with humour and just the right amount of self centered cynicism. I particularly liked his rendition of The American Dream. He is a great actor who has the ability to use every muscle in his face to express emotions. He was very funny tonight and a joy to watch.

The lead performances were complemented by a well rehearsed chorus who looked and sounded great. They had learned complicated choreography and difficult harmonies and we were treated to rousing renditions of ‘The Heat Is On In Saigon’, ‘The Morning of The Dragon’ and ‘The American Dream’.

The most memorable scene, however, has to be ‘Kim’s Nightmare’ when Chris is forced to join the military evacuation of Saigon. Without giving anything away, the scene was brilliantly produced and performed. The intensity of performance from the entire cast as Chris has to to leave Kim behind is remarkably real and very moving.

It should be said that this show has hardly any dialogue but a huge score. The challenge for this group was to be able to cope with so much complicated music and they succeeded brilliantly.

The costumes, 150+ of them, all made by Alison Davey and Vicky Garavan, were very effective and added to the reality of what we were seeing on stage. It was obvious that both of them have an eye for detail. Other props, including the very realistic guns, were made especially for the show.

This was a complicated show to stage and I have to praise the back stage crew who made the scene changes work so smoothly. Apparently back stage was described as Level 2 of Tetris!

The scenery, use of props and lighting was first class.

The whole production is underpinned by a 15 piece orchestra conducted by Leon Wade who also produced the show. It sounded great. The quality musicians added an extra touch of class and they did a fantastic job of providing the emotional score behind the voices.

To conclude I have to say that when I first heard that The Young Performers were doing Miss Saigon I thought ‘they will never do it because it is too hard and too adult in its themes’. Tonight they proved me wrong.

The heat was certainly on at the Duchess tonight. What I wonder is what will this brilliant group do next – I don’t know but ….. I will never doubt their ability to take on the most difficult shows again.

Many congratulations and well done to all concerned.

 

Kiss Me Kate
Lace Market Theatre
Saturday July 27th 2013

Having never been to the Lace Market Theatre before I was not sure what to expect. However, from the moment we walked into in the charming building just off Fletcher Gate it was obvious we were going to have an enjoyable evening.

Not only is there the Theatre Auditorium and a small studio but also a fair sized cafe/ bar upstairs offering a friendly and comfortable place to have a drink before, during and after the shows.

The Auditorium is not large, holding I guess about 120 people but it is very comfortable and the view of the stage is good from almost all angles.

And so what of the production of Kiss Me Kate?

It is one of my favourite shows written by Cole Porter and the last time I saw it was the London revival last year at the Old Vic which was excellent. I was therefore a little anxious that this amateur production might not come up to my expectations. I need not to have worried as from the moment the two pianos struck up at the start and the cast assembled on stage for the opening number it was obvious that this was going to be good. It turned out not to be just good but very, very good!

There were some notably fine principles in this cast including Jacky Dunn, who played a very convincing and fiery, Lily Vanessi, Kimberley Brook, who was outstanding as Lois Lane (a very fine actress, singer and dancer) and Alasdair Maughn who played Fred Graham. He was excellent and when you consider he stood in for Giles Pettit at very short notice (about 6 days) - Giles was unable to perform, following an road accident - and was word and acting perfect tonight - well what can I say but, amazing - and he was. How he managed to learn all the part in so few days I have no idea. He and Jacky Dunn were a dream together especially when they were arguing and fighting! Very convincing, I have to say. I should also say that Jacky sings beautifully as well.

The two comic gangsters played by Roger Newman and Max Bromley were very funny indeed and perfect in the roles. The audience loved them.

The whole cast were outstandingly good and made light work of moving the simple, yet effective set. Throughout the show they were completely believable in their respective roles and they were totally committed in what they were doing.

The set piece dance numbers, which are important elements of this show, were well produced and choreographed. Notable among these were "Tom, Dick and Harry,' and Too Darn Hot. Mention must be made here of Ray Mcleod who took the lead in the second of these and was excellent both as a singer and dancer.

One other mention and that is for Chris Ireson who played General Harrison Howell. Very good casting here as he was, in my opinion, perfect in the role.

The sound and lighting for the show were both great. As I said earlier there were no radio mice, at least I don't think there were but every word both in songs and in the dialogue were very clear. The acoustics of this theatre combined with good delivery made the acting seem very natural. In fact overall the standard of acting from the whole cast was very high.

Congratulations must go to the whole creative team led by the Director, Linda Croston and the Musical Director Piotr Wisniewski. The Choreographer was Lisa Lee who got the cast to make very good use of the stage with very effective routines. It was amazing how multi talented most of this cast were.

The musical accompaniment was provided by two Key Boards played very well by Piotr and his assistant James Tate. I did wonder if, for a show with so many "big" numbers, this would be enough but it was. I liked the sound and it was so well balanced with the singing on the stage.

The staging of the show was very good and at times quite innovative.

What a fabulous evening we had on our first visit to this theatre which must be one of Nottingham's lesser known entertainment venues. It is well worth a visit and their 2013/ 14 programme is now out and features a wide variety of plays from both adults and the Youth Group.

In conclusion this show certainly blurred the lines between amateur and professional so much so that I think I enjoyed it as much as the Old Vic version I saw in London.

Well done to all who were involved and I for one am looking forward to my next visit to the Lace Market Theatre which I hope will be sooner rather than later.

 

A Chistmas Carol
Erewash Musical Society
Duchess Theatre
Tuesday December 3rd - 2013

Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, is as synonymous with Christmas as pudding, presents, trees, decorations and mince pies.

It is the tale of a nasty, joyless miser, forced to see the error of his ways and repent in time for Christmas Day.

This popular story, in musical form, has been chosen by the highly regarded Erewash Musical Society as their Autumn show – and what a good choice it is.

The stage adaptation is an all-new version, with songs written by UK-based Chris Blackwood and Piers Chater Robinson.

This is a show full of tuneful songs performed by a very enthusiastic and talented cast. It is accompanied by great dancing, an innovative production and a very interesting set. It even has a shed full of snow!

Despite the story being dark and disturbing at times you can’t help being uplifted by the end.

The lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge is played by Dan Bates, a well known local actor, who dominates the stage throughout and very convincingly changes his character as the story progresses. He certainly convinced me that by the end Scrooge, was a totally reformed character.

As Ebenezer Scrooge is on stage for more than half the show, the actor filling the character’s shoes has the responsibility of delivering a convincing performance. Dan does this brilliantly.

There are so many other members of this cast that deserve a mention for their performances including Paul Norris who fills the role of Bob Cratchit, Scrooge’s right-hand man with a heart of gold, the impoverished ever suffering Tiny Tim, played on this occasion by Evan Hagan, and Gemma Blake, who plays the golden voiced Belle.

Jack Warburton as the Young Adult Scrooge, does so with sensitivity and has a great singing voice too. He is definitely an actor/ singer to look out for in future productions.

Mike Seed was a fabulous Ghost of Jacob Marley – frightening and imposing with Stephe Ure as The Chost of Christmas Past providing a lovely contrast. I also liked the Ghost of Christmas Present played by Carl McGarrigle who also played Mr Fezziwig with great humour accompanied by the ever popular Laurie Trott who played his very “silly” wife. They made a fabulous couple. Their wigs were fabulous, as well.

The two “ladies” who cleaned for Scrooge, Mrs Filch and Mrs Dilber, played by Rachel Bates and Tracey Renshaw were, and I hope they won’t mind me saying so, deliciously common. I love them!

Mike Evans, who has several parts in the play ranging from Charles Dickens himself to a peddler, was very convincing in all of them.

There are two teams of children sharing the roles the Cratchit and other children and they played their parts well.The principles were well supported by a very strong ensemble cast who were fully involved throughout.

Elaina Evans, who directs and Carol Lawson who choreographs the show, have put a talented cast in place with an energetic and upbeat production that moves quickly over the course of two and a bit hours.

The amount of effort put into set design and construction is obvious with the very effective use of back projection. A smoke machine works to take the audience back to the dark old days of Victorian London, and a fantastic lighting plot, designed by Simon Birchall, brings the whole thing to life.

Mark Robbins, the Stage Manager, and his crew worked hard to make the scene changes smooth and unobtrusive. The sound was also well managed which is not always the case in this age of the dreaded radio mic! Helen Parker and her props crew are to be congratulated as well. We often forget how hard they work before, during and after the shows but without them shows would be much the poorer.

The production was very colourful with very authentic Victorian Costumes looked after by Helen Munns and her wardrobe assistants.

Mention must be made of Nathan Truesdale, the Musical Director, and his great orchestra. They sympathetically accompanied the show and were musically very good indeed. Nathan has quite obviously brought the company up to a very high standard of singing.

The Erewash Musical Societies Production ends on Saturday night. However, this makes for an ideal way for families to indulge in an early fix of Christmas spirit and stave off the inevitable festive fatigue.

I really enjoyed this production and, despite mentioning some individual cast members, I think everyone on that stage tonight and indeed those off stage were great. Well done for providing a full house at the Duchess Theatre with a very enjoyable Tuesday evening.