Once the province of just the very best of West End talent, this, the world's most popular musical, is now available to amateurs and youth groups. It was this slightly altered youth score that I watched this evening at Hyde Festival Theatre, presented by The Drama Department.
The theatre is not large, and the capabilities and capacity of the technical side of things is not ideal for a full scale musical, but director Michael McCaw made ample use of all that was available to him, including a large full-stage-sized screen at the rear upon which CGI images of each scene - as well as a helpful timeline - were projected. Sometimes though it was clear that McCaw's vision for this show far exceeded the theatre's capacity. Maybe one day he will have the chance to see his vision realised, when budget and staging are not issues to be considered.
For the most part, the rest of the stage remained bare, but several scenes required a few set items, with, of course, act two being dominated by a large barricade, which, with the help of the stage management team, revolved as in the original West End production. Such a shame that the stage-hands were not dressed in costume for this, they looked very incongruous.
An imaginative and creative lighting design therefore dominated the stage at other times. Mostly this worked very well, with some lovely backlights for the soloists. The designer did get a little carried away though with the strange specials around the auditorium. These distracted and added nothing to the scenes.
With this being a youth production, it would be somewhat unfair and prejudicial of me to critique the performances. Suffice to say that it was abundantly clear that all on stage were fully committed to their roles, were giving 100% at all times, and were obviously enjoying their stage time. Indeed a lot of thought, hard work, and effort had gone into creating such a dramatic and epic piece of theatre with such realism and earnestness, none of this went unnoticed or unappreciated. McCaw's own directorial flair and originality was also evidenced, and mostly worked extremely well.
What I will do however, if the reader will permit, is for me to completely subjective for a small paragraph, and single out just four of this evening's performers. This is not because they were any better than any other, nor is it because they showed any more talent or dedication than the rest of the cast. No, this is a purely personal opinion, and nothing more. The four on stage this evening who for me, hit every single nail fairly and squarely on their heads and then some, were: Eleri Jones as Eponine, Olivia Small as Fantine, Brodie Robson as Gavroche, and Scarlett Bailey as Young Cosette.
A live band, under the direction of Paul Lawton was hidden somewhere in the bowels of the theatre, and the sound levels were at times set just a little too high. The whole thing could have done to have been just a couple of decibels lower for maximum effect and enjoyment.
A rather large cast, including ensemble, filled the stage as necessary, and their cumulative sound was lovely, again enjoying and appreciating all the harmonies. The whole group have obviously worked tirelessly to create this piece of theatre. A lady sitting next to me had never seen the show before and knew nothing of it; however, this version has inspired her to see the show again, and even perhaps read the novel... she was one of the first on her feet at the end, as the whole audience gave this society a deserved stranding ovation.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 16.4.23
Saw this last night. Absolutely fabulous and I agree with over the girls Eponine and Fantine. Shame you got Eponine’s actress name wrong. Eleni James.
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