The Waterside Theatre, in the centre of Manchester, plays host to the inaugural performance of The Arden School of Theatre’s, ‘New York State Of Mind’. As an Arden graduate, I was keen and excited to see what 2018’s batch of young hopefuls consisted of. Assuming I was attending a third year final performance, I was shocked and stunned to discover that the students in this cast were all volunteers from the first and second year. These undergraduates have pushed aside the daily stresses of student life, finding space in their already busy timetable to commit to an extra-curricular, show-stopping, toe-tapping performance.
Most students experience ‘live’ performance in their third year, where it is scheduled into the syllabus and forms the gateway to future careers. By forming an undergraduate Arden Repertory, Gary Willis is generously underpinning these northern stars with the necessary grit needed for their chosen industry.
Turning the studio space into an intimate ‘Cafe Theatre’ (known as Cabaret in my day), the audience sat around on tables of ten, enjoying drinks, live music and 80 minutes (plus 20 min interval) of top-notch singing and dancing.
The first act opened with a full company medley, singing to live piano accompaniment whilst incorporating harmonies and lively choreography - proving to be so much more than just ‘jazz hands’! The solos and duets that followed gave performers the chance to ease into the close proximity of their audience. Moreover, it offered the cast the chance to enjoy the more technical aspects of performance - such as - the tricky art of working with head microphones; listening to the speakers to ensure their sound quality; time their first note precisely to the piano; walk and sing in full costume, make-up, unfamiliar shoes, smile and not fall over on wobbly legs straight into the laps of the audience on Table B!
Act two kicked-off with a spirited and sequinned tap dance to the reprise of 42nd Street, by a local dance school of Level 3 performers. Not only highly selfless to include them in the line-up, but quite wonderful to see a local collaboration with aspiring young performers and, potentially, Arden students of the future. Yes, I was sitting alongside a gaggle of extremely proud parents - and why shouldn’t they be? And, yes, I am a 1998 graduate of Arden, who spends far too much time reviewing professional performances and not enough time reviewing shows about what Manchester’s future talent can offer.
So, bearing in mind that these performers are at the beginning of their performance lives, stand-out performers to me were; Ryan Davenport’s 'Uptown Girls', Emily Scott’s 'Taylor The Latte Boy Part 1', Molly Huddleston’s 'So Far Away', Megan Davies-Truin’s 'Ring Them Bells', Connor Baldwin’s 'Taylor The Latte Boy Part 2', Olivia Harford’s 'Empire State Of Mind' (yes I did see you wink at someone during the show which played nicely into the cabaret style performance) and Harriet Dixon’s 'Bewitched Bothered And Bewildered'.
If you fancy a night of entertainment but don’t have the dollars to spend on Broadway, then these kind of shows are a fantastic way to enjoy top-quality entertainment from Manchester’s stars of the future. Ask yourself this, where can you go for a night’s entertainment for less than a tenner? Simples! Full details can be found on the website of The Waterside Theatre. Now prick-up your ears London/Glasgow/Cardiff and Belfast because The Arden School of Theatre is ringing the changes loud and clear!
Reviewer - Alexis Tuttle
on - 8/11/18
No comments:
Post a Comment