It seems hard to believe that Blackpool has been bereft of the Lloyd-Webber hit, 'School Of Rock' until now. And yet, this was the Blackpool premiere of this popular musical. The company responsible for this were Crea8iv Theatre Company, and this was a reworking of the show that they performed a few miles down the road at The Lowther Pavilion in Lytham in March last year. I have to say that I was lucky enough to see that show and absolutely loved it, and so couldn't wait to see these talented performers in action again.
Where the Lytham show lacked technical expertise and flown-in sets etc, the Grand Theatre in Blackpool was happy to oblige and so this aspect of the show changed. This sadly however had the effect of slowing the show down and there were long periods of nothing (orchestral vamp) whilst waiting for the scenes to change. Stage hands were visible almost all the time, and the sets and scenes did not flow seamlessly unfortunately. Where the Lytham show excelled, with the immediacy and visceral nature of the show, then sadly the Grand was too, well, grand. The spontaneity and freshness of this piece was lost as it was no longer a small theatre with the audeince close by, but a large prosc arch theatre with a definite them / us feel. In fact, the production felt a little tired if I am completely honest. The show had lost its mojo / its WOW factor.
The lighting design was awful sadly. There was never full stage coverage, and many times performers were singing and / or acting in unlit areas of the stage. The lighting was insufficient in most cases and was often late on cue too.
The directing was a little haphazzard in this production too sadly, as we saw characters enter one way and exit through the wings (ie a wall!) etc. The directing was unimaginative too. Sadly the children were left standing and unsure of what to do or where to go when there were not enough desks for them in the classroom. It looked awkward.
As previously, the lead role of Dewey Finn was played by Chris Higgins, reprising this role 12 months on he has lost some of the sparkle he had, and he also seemed to be struggling a little vocally too. However, that being said, he still impressed, and was still much better than the professional actor playing the role on the UK Tour! Cassie Mochan was a creditable head of school, Rosalie Mullins, whilst the smaller adult roles of Ned Schneebly and his bitchy girlfriend Patty were played this evening by Rowan Keane and Evie Hill.
However, as always in this musical, it is the children who steal the show! They sing, dance, act, and play instruments... they are uber-talented and all deserve credit and praise. Reprising her role as Summer was the very watchable and very bossy Tilly Musson. Other children reprising roles included the drumming whizz-kid Freddie Butler as Freddie Hamilton, and the two backing singers Marcy and Shonelle (Caitlyn MacLean and Heidi Dawson). Newcomers to this production saw a talented Annabelle Fairhurst portray the reserved new girl with two dads, Tomika, and blow us away with her 'Amazing Grace'. Mia Gisslow performed the keyboard-playing Lauren with relish. The lead guitarist (Zack) and the bassist (Katie) were performed by Sheldon Walls and Willa Johnson; but the one to make me laugh the most this evening was the stylist Billy (Henry Ratcliffe).
Despite my misgivings on things technical, this was a very enjoyable show, and once again proves that "there is no way you can stop, the School Of Rock!"
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 16.2.24
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