Wednesday 22 March 2023

AMATEUR THEATRE REVIEW: Sister Act - The Civic Centre, Heywood. Greater Manchester.


This musical is becoming increasingly popular amongst amateur societies, and it isn't hard to see why; it is full of up-beat, showstopping song-and-dance numbers which involve a large chorus, has some great character parts of varying sizes, has the ability to be played in an overt comedic fashion which is sure to garner laughs, and has a heartwarming and feel-good storyline which appeals to all ages, and indeed those of any religion (or none, as the case may be!).

Heywood AODS knew all of these things of course, and the company produced a show which gave both the comedy punch and the kick to the stomach at all the right places. Strong principal roles, supported by equally strong cameos, who were all supported by a talented and very enthusiastic ensemble of nuns etc. 

The stage at Heywood's Civic Centre is a rather awkward shape, inasmuch as it is extremely wide and not exceptionally deep. Similar in many ways to Stockport's Plaza Theatre. The set design therefore very sensibly utilised the two extreme sides not part of the prosc. arch with two of the settings required for the show, and these stayed in place throughout, whilst the main body of the stage had the church interior as the "base" set with smaller set pieces being brought in and out as necessary, or using a front-of-curtain scene too when a larger change was required. The changes were mostly swiftly executed and worked well, although I have to admit I didn't understand the choice of the two set pieces on either side, as both were used only for one small scene each and both in the second act. Surely it would have been more effective to have used these areas for places which occur more than once in the show. 

The lighting design (Rob Armstrong) was mostly effective, although the use of strobe in the second act was unnecessary and didn't have the required effect. Costumes worked well throughout and I loved the idea that the nuns habits became more and more outrageous as the show went along. Sadly the sound levels this evening were set far too high, and the speakers were straining under the volume as we heard them complaining several times throughout the show. The band was excellent, and sounded superb the whole evening under the talented direction of David Abendstern. 

Aimee Clare portrayed our wannabe star lounge-singer Deloris Van Cartier with assured confidence and gave a fully-rounded portrayal from naive bluster, to genuine fear, through understanding and learning, to acceptance and of course stardom (finally!). With a powerful singing voice and Annie Oakley gung-ho, she showed considerable skill as her veneer was chipped away, bit by bit by both the Mother Superior and police officer Eddie. These two characters being (in this reviewer's opinion) the two "stars" of this particular production. Shirley Harrison played the Mother Superior with a certain Sound-Of-Music style, but it absolutely worked for her, making her snide put-downs all the more powerful, as they were unexpected. Her two solos were superbly measured and she proved to have a beautiful voice and deep understanding of the arc of her character. Nick Angus (last seen by this reviewer as Simon in Kinky Boots for the same society) made for a superb and sympathetic Eddie. Again, his singing was beyond reproach as he showed an amazing bluesy / Motown vocal ability, and was an extremely engaging and watchable actor. 

Leonie Picariello portrayed the comedy role of Sister Mary Patrick with obvious glee, pitching her characterisation from the famous film, thus making it more recognisable perhaps, whilst Stephanie Mead played postulant Sister Mary Robert with nervous reserve, before proving she had what it takes to become a character in her own right in the second act. Nicely done. Other smaller cameo roles were taken by Simon Pickup as Monsignor O'Hara who truly embraced his "gangsta" side in the denouement; Sam Reid, the mafia boss boyfriend of Deloris who seemed too nice at times to be truly evil and tote a gun at Delores's head, was given a certain stylish panache this evening by Sam Reid. He has a good stage presence, a nice singing voice, and is obviously a talented performer. His three side-kicks were played this evening by Paul Dawson, James Earnshaw, and Martin White. Although little more than 'filler' and stooges for Curtis, their three-part singing and dancing routines were nicely executed and very funny.

As I have already stated, the chorus worked excellently, going from a gaggle of out-of-tune but cheery singers to a gospel choir worthy of an audience with the pope! All had been given their own individual characteristics and together their cumulative choral sound was delightful. 

The whole was directed by Jo Weetman, who obviously loved what she was doing, and gave the show an easy-to-follow arc and brought the storyline out with ease. I would say that at times a couple of the entrances / exits didn't really make much sense, and perhaps this would be worth looking at for future performances; and I would most certainly advise using a fight director for the chase sequences / pratfalls, stage fighting, as these parts of the show were most certainly the weakest unfortunately. Katie Fry gave the show all the lovely moves as choreographer, wisely finding flashy moves which the whole cast could perform with ease, and the resulting finale to act one and the second act's denouement and finale sequence were fabulous, cleverly using the whole cast to fill the stage with colour and spectacle. 

All-in-all, a high energy, no-punches-pulled, "fabulous baby!" show, and yet another feather in the society's cap. 

Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 21.3.23

1 comment:

  1. Just to let you know you've mixed up Leonie and Stephanie in this review. Leonie played sister Mary Roberts and Stephanie played sister Mary Patrick.

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