AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: The Sound Of Music - The Art Theatre, New Mills, Derbyshire.

Sixty years (to the day this Saturday!) since it premiered on Broadway, ‘The Sound Of Music’ remains one of the most consistently popular musicals ever written and it’s not hard to see why. Almost every song is truly memorable and the plot is based on a thrilling true story of an unlikely romance facing growing oppression by the Third Reich, set against a juxtaposition of aristocratic opulence and austere life in a nunnery, with an even sprinkling of nasty Nazis to boot!

The problem of undertaking such a popular show is that the bar of audience expectation is set high, coupled with ‘The Sound Of Music’ being an ambitious show for any society to undertake, calling for a very large cast, a full music score, an array of period costumes and big sets, ranging from the inside of a mansion to a convent, not forgetting the Austrian Alps! New Mills Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society proved well capable of meeting this tall order with a delightful production that was genuinely engaging.

The sound was excellent, with the main cast mic'd up to just the right balace with the nine-piece orchestra; all the actors making the roles their own, quite aside from any renditions in the famous film version. Kim Cooper was very relaxed in the central role of Maria, giving a spirited performance and Robbie Carnegie gave a suitable distant persona to Captain Von Trappe. The seven actors playing their seven children were perfectly cast in age and height and sang together beautifully. It was nice to see Gary Ward reprize the role of Max, the Captain’s opportunist friend with characteristic humour (last seen at Stockport Plaza). Angela Hulme gave a caring authority to the Mother Abbess and Beverley was very much the wealthy socialite, Elda Schaeder.

Visually, the centrepiece was a very impressive creation of the inside of the Von Trappe house, complete with great flowing staircase flanked by art-deco balustrades. This provided the main focus for the world created of Austrian high-society and must be one of the most impressive sets ever seen at the Art Theatre. The convent was cleverly created using a black curtain with coloured light images, suggestive of stained-glass windows and a huge central cross in High-Catholic-style; typical of the attention to detail shown in this production. Maria’s (ample) bedroom was also created very convincingly with numerous high windows and entrances, all of which were made good use of in the direction. Inevitably perhaps, other scenes had to be presented with just a painted back screen but enough of a visual image was created with the sets to ensure that suspension of disbelief was maintained throughout.

The costuming was very impressive with Alpine-style jackets, sailor-theme children’s costumes and period clothing all given careful attention, most notably the Catholic priest’s ceremonial wedding garments which were very authentic. The Nazi costumes were also very correct, including meticulously detailed SS uniforms, Gestapo-style full length leather coats and even a lugar pistol brandished near the end. Curiously, a Nazi officer wore a Hitler-Youth Armband but this may have been deliberate to show the extent of sudden Nazi domination of society at that time. What was not so impressive was the odd way all the Nazis just shouted ‘Heil’ whilst raising their arm; as any schoolboy familiar with war films would tell you, the correct call should have been ‘Heil Hitler’. The nuns all looked very much the part, at least from the waist up, with the length of their hem-lines curiously varying to a fair extent.

This was a very enjoyable and creditable production, very well performed with clear attention to detail.

Reviewer - John Waterhouse
on - 14/11/19