AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: The Sound Of Music - The Garrick Playhouse, Altrincham. Manchester.

The theatre's alive with the sound of music...

It's school half term, and what better way to spend a family evening of nights-drawing-in and winter approaching, than to transport yourself to the late 1930s in Austria, with the help of those talented people at Altrincham's Garrick Theatre.

We've all seen the film, right? We all the know the story, surely. However, what is different for the stage musical - just in case you think something went wrong - is that the muscial numbers are all in a different order. The story remains the same, but the songs don't; there are even a couple of songs in the stage show, which, quite wisely in this reviewer's opinion, didn't make it into the film. 

Upon arrival in the auditorium we are greeted with an open set. Mostly a composite affair which cleverly mixes the serenity and perhaps even austerity of Nonnberg Abbey with an alpine mountain backdrop. This works wonderfully (with the help of clever lighting) for all the scenes which take place within both the abbey and the great outdoors, but there was definitely something lacking for the scenes which take place in Captain Von Trapp's residence. And again, for this reviewer at least, a black curtain behind the doors at the centre rear of the stage was truly insufficient.

This is a wonderful show, and one cannot help but be swept up by the emotional and very human storyline. And to know that this story is based on reality makes it doubly so. Joseph Meighan's direction pulled absolutely no punches in this regard, utilising archive recordings of the Anschluss, as well as wisely not shying away from presenting the German forces as they really were, with the correct salutes and large red and and black swastika flags flying in the auditorium for the concert scene. In fact, both my companion and I remarked that even knowing as we did that this was just "pretend", the presence of those flags and the German officers around the auditorium gave us both palpitations... we were able to gain a valuable but minute insight to what it might truly have been like for those who lived through it.

My over-riding criticism this evening however has to be laid at the feet of the sound department sadly. Microphones' levels were all over the place all evening. Sometimes we heard the dialogue too louldy, and sometimes we didn't hear it at all; whilst other times, individual chorus members were singled out and much louder than the rest of the chorus, and the levels were constantly changing. I am sure this was not intentional, and so hopefully can be easily rectified for future performances.

I enjoyed both Helen Swain and Charlie Tomlinson as Baroness Schraeder and Max Detweiler respectively. Both Connor Ryan and Carmel Price as Rolf and Mother Abbess added greatly to the show. Steven Finney's Captain Von Trapp was, at the start of the show, perhaps not quite upright and stern enough. I should have liked to have seen a greater change from the sea captain who has his children march, to the music-loving family man he really is. That being said however, I thought his characterisation was secure and nicely pitched and he is a very natural actor and easy to watch. Whilst Natalie Hayes embodied the role of Julie Andrews... sorry.... Maria, with ease. A beautiful singing voice and again a very natural actress, and Finney and Hayes had a nice on-stage chemistry too. However, the show is stolen - and of course it absolutely should be - by the seven childen. This evening it was Team Rodgers, and so we had the pleasure of Ciara-Alexandra Brooker (Liesl), Barney Magher (Friedrich), Paige Doherty (Louisa), Dylan Williams (Kurt), Elsa Pettit (Brigitta), Isobel Bradbury (Marta), and Keira Brierley (why-am-I-always-last Gretl). Each had their own distinct characters, yet they worked as a unit beautifully, complimenting each other and the show as a whole. In short, they were just marvellous!

With Neil Bennett in the pit with his "chamber orchestra", a solid ensemble of Garrick thespians, and Jo Meighan's direction, this is a truly wonderful half-term treat, and a real feather in the Garrick's cap.  

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 24.10.22