AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: The Sound Of Music - Theatre Royal, St. Helens.

Having been brought up on a diet of Rogers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, it is my all-time favourite musical and despite having watched it hundreds of times, I still adore it! This year celebrates the stage production’s 60th birthday and it continues to entertain audiences young and old across the globe. Why? Because it is such a feel-good musical. (Spoiler alert) The story tells the rags to riches tale of Austrian Maria Rainer as she leaves the confines of postulant life in a convent and falls helplessly in love with Captain Von Trapp with his seven adorable children. Although the 1959 stage version has the same story as the film, which was made six years later, some of the songs were in fact reordered for the film and audiences often find this different order strange, with Maria singing My Favourite Things, whilst still in the convent and The Lonely Goatherd, during the thunderstorm, but this is in fact how the stage production was originally written. That said, so many of the songs we know and love, remain in the stage version and you can’t help but smile from start to finish with the familiarity of it all.

The performance was produced by Chantelle Nolan and The Royal T Drama Academy, which is a youth theatre group based at the Theatre Royal in St Helen’s and caters for children and young people aged 6-18 years old. The cast bravely staged the full adult Broadway version of the play (with no edits) and boy did they pull it off! Directors Si Foster, Harry Moore and Sophie Thow clearly know how to bring together the finest of the local talent and direct them to near professional standard. The confidence exuded from this cast and there wasn’t a glance nor a gesture out of place. They had clearly been directed magnificently by this fab trio.

Although it isn’t a particularly ‘dance-fuelled’ musical, choreography by Jade Harrington managed to use every opportunity to put movement on stage. Some lovely choreography in the opening How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? created one of the liveliest versions of the number I have ever witnessed and despite The Lonely Goatherd being in the thunderstorm scene and without the puppet show from the film, Harrington generously gave the ensemble more dance opportunity to create a puppet routine alongside the children in the bed, just gorgeous!

Design elements of this production were also superb: from authentic costumes of the Von Trapp children and the opulent ballroom dresses at the Captain’s party to the wonderful set design of various locations including the convent stained glass windows, the Captain’s stunning mansion and the backdrop of the Austrian Alps. The stark contrast of the enormous Nazi flag at the Music Festival was also a haunting reminder of the cultural setting of this musical and was so effective to remind the audience of the dangers this family faced and needed to run away from. Every element of design helped to create a fabulous piece of theatre which the cast and creatives should be so proud of. In fact I would go as far to say that this and the energy of these young people (in a stage production which is so long that it sometimes drags on), kept the pace of this production going so brilliantly that I felt it was even better than the professional versions of the show I have watched at the Lowry and on the West End Stage!

Every single cast member looked like they were having the best time and really knew their stage craft, from the young ensemble right up to the principle cast and were a pleasure to watch. The Von Trapp children exuded energy and smiles from start to finish; their diction and singing were delightful and they had an enchanting rapport with one another. Olivia Forshaw, in the role of Maria had beautiful stage presence and a charming ability to change her status from the postulant nun singing in the hills and bowing at the Mother Abbess’ feet, to the gentle Governess of seven children, who eventually becomes their mother. She had a subtlety in her acting which was believable and sympathetic of the role. Elliot Bailey’s brilliantly comic interpretation of Max Detweiler alongside Roisin Cook in the role of seductress, Elsa Schraeder, felt extremely fresh and original in both portrayals. But by far my favourite performance of the evening was from Caitlin Boulton as the Mother Abbess as she sang Climb Every Mountain. This young lady has the voice of an angel and brought a credibility to this song which would have brought a tear to a stone, just wonderful. I truly hope that regional theatre awards recognise the value of this tremendous production and that all cast, creatives feel an honour to have been involved in such a super show.

Reviewer - Johanna Hassouna-Smith
on - 22/8/19