The National Youth Music Theatre are almost at the end of their season of productions, performing full scale musicals in London and Birmingham, devised shows in Birmingham etc, and for one night only one of their many youth companies, Crescendo, came along to the Stoller Hall in Manchester to perform their own devised production - a Disney Juke-box mash which they called, 'Disney's Dare To Dream'.
This was a 50 minute non-stop ensemble production which saw a cast of 19 young people - I am guessing between the ages of 12 and 15 - perform their own take on the Disney oeuvre nicely wrapping a story around these songs. The premise being that 17 of these youths were at school and they are visited by 2 Imagineers. They come to tell them that they too can become Disney Imagineers and make their dreams come true if they take part in this one day seminar, which they all do. In turn they come forward and share their dreams, and realise, with a little help from the Imagineers, that they had the power to be anything they wanted to be all along...."when you wish upon a star your dreams come true".
The costuming was rather poor, with the 17 school children all dressed in uninteresting and drab jeans / t-shirts etc, which did little to differentiate them or give them a visual of their characters. There was a little, but it wasn't enough More colour and variation was needed, whilst the two Imagineers could easily have been far more fantastical than they were. The same comment for the set sadly... drab, utilitarian, uninteresting, colourless, and mostly pointless. The live music was performed by a pianist and percussionist on a kit at the rear. This did not create the right sound / feel for the vast majority of the songs sadly, sounding far too bare and drum heavy. The whole effect of costumes / music / set etc felt and looked like a rehearsal rather than a performance.
Sound levels were very poor, and we did not hear everything that the young cast spoke. Generally the levels for the singing was fine and I enjoyed the lovely harmonies which came through, but their speaking voices were sometimes completely inaudible. Other times their diction and enunciation was not clear enough and their projection not sufficient enough, although this is clearly not the students' fault since they have not been taught these techniques yet.
The cast however gave this show their cumulative alls and their energy, commitment, enthusiasm and indeed prowess needs applauding.
Directed by Katie Bonna. Choreography (very enjoyable) by Adam Haigh. Musical Direction by Ben Garnett. Designed by Libby Todd.
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 25.10.25
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