The newly formed Encore Productions have teamed up with Blackpool's Opera House in a bid to make this esteemed and elegant building open and accessible to all, both young and old, and to encourage the continued production of quality creative art within the region.
To this end, a one-off showcase of local talent was produced this evening on the Opera House's grand stage. Over 340 children and adults from the region, from 10 different local academies / schools, strutted their stuff, showing us the enduring popularity of Musical Theatre.
The groups were all very different, with some choosing to present a pot-pourri of songs from different musicals, whilst others presented a short potted version of just one; whilst the most successful idea seemed to be to simply concentrate on just one or two songs from the same musical and present these as if they were actually in the musical itself, fully costumed and choreographed. Costuming as per the musical certainly helped the visual spectacle, and indeed those groups who chose full costume instead of their company's own training gear were much more interesting from an audience perspective.
The first act started with Red Rose Theatreworks, based in central Blackpool, and their strong opener was a selection of songs from 'Fame'. A large group of mixed teens, fully integrated with all abilities, they brought boundless energy to the stage and set the pace and tone for the whole evening.
Across The Boards, (Lytham), gave a bright rendition of some of the more popular numbers from 'Shrek', which lovely costumes and loads of enthusiasm. Scream Theatre School (Blackpool) chose something a little different, and instead of the stage Musical of 'Sister Act', performed hip hop and Street dances and songs, featuring one of the adult female staff members leading the group as 'Madonna' in 'Like A Prayer'. St.Annes Musical Productions started the second act with a mash-up of songs from 'Rocky Horror', 'Kiss Me Kate' and 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'. Barbara Jackson's Theatre Arts (Fleetwood) gave us a rather sassy and upbeat all-dancing rendition of 'Moulin Rouge'. Blackout Theatre Company (Blackpool) ably provided us with a shortened version of 'Legally Blonde'. An adult group from Junction Four Productions (Blackpool) entertained with songs from 'Jekyll And Hyde', 'Wonderland', T'he Addams Family', and a very proficient and professional male solo from 'Oliver!', 'My Name'. Encore Productions themselves were the last group to perform this evening. An adult group of aspiring professionals impressed with their two songs / dances from the musical, 'Prom'.
However, the savvy amongst you will have noticed that I have missed several groups out of the above listings. This is simply because, for this reviewer at least, these particular groups were able to produce just that little bit extra.. a certain je ne sais quoi, a certain stage presence, which made these groups shine just a little brighter. Perhaps it was the choreography; which for all these groups was expressive, impressive, and had good use of the stage and 'pictures', nice group work and were able to use the groups' individual and cumulative talents to their best advantage. Perhaps it was the fact that they chose just a short excerpt and worked on the maxim that 'less is more'; or perhaps it was the costuming, the mise-en-scene, and the sheer vim, verve and talent of those performing, with their obvious enjoyment spilling out from across the fourth wall. These were Starlight Stage School (Thornton-Cleveleys) with their 'Matilda Jr' section; Lytham Academy Of Performing Arts (Lytham) with their 'Annie Jr' section, and Barbara Jackson's Theatre Arts (Fleetwood), with three of their four entries in this evening's showcase,' Motown Musical', 'Bugsy Malone', and my absolute favourite from this evening's showcase, the excellently performed and produced 'Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.
Sadly the finale was a lamentable mess. This should have included the entire company of all the sections, although it was not certain whether it did or not, since the groups were standing in lines filling the stage and did not move throughout the entire song - 'Let It Go' from 'Frozen'. Unfortunately though the adults from Encore formed the front row, completely blocking the view of anyone behind them, and so the tiny youngsters would have been better off not even bothering to come on! The finale song was sung by two Encore soloists leaving the rest of the performers to sing just the refrain. There was no company bow or curtain call, and for some sections / groups it was unclear when they had finished and so it made it difficult to applaud them even after their individual groups too. That was a shame.
However, most groups made effective use of the Opera House's lighting. No group had any set and so the bare stage was their blank canvas, meaning that costumes, lighting and haze were all they had to work with. Those groups with creative LX effects throughout also made for a much more visual and enjoyable spectacle.
Encore Productions will be back at the Opera House in March next year for their first full-scale production, Legally Blonde. This evening's adults were highly skilled and their section very enjoyable, and so this should be a brilliant show to look forward to next year.
The showcase was also produced to raise much needed money for the ongoing renovations of the Winter Gardens.
A most enjoyable evening, proving that the Fylde Coast is alive and bursting with talent and creative inspiration. Congratulations to all!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 1.11.23
on - 1.11.23
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