My first seasonal offering came yesterday as I travelled to Moston, North Manchester to watch North Manchester-based young peoples' theatre company, North Stars, perform their latest production of ELF Jr. at the NWTAC Theatre.
North Stars Theatre Company is a fully inclusive outfit, their ethos to make theatre accessible for all, which takes in youths of all ages from the very young up to adult, and encourages those who have disabilities that might in other circumstances be discouraged or overlooked, and so a good number of her students have some physical or neurological disability, and these work alongside everyone else and the whole ensemble work as one. This is both heartwarming and laudable. It does however, become a little problematic when coming to review the production in the form of any critique. What I can and will say is that the whole cast were enjoying themselves immensely, which was palpable, and their infectious enthusiasm and energy carried the show through from beginning to end. This was a very happy production, where the putting on of the show was placed in higher regard than the actual technical objectives, which was absolutely fine since that was made clear, however this did make the production a much longer show than was necessary. The Jr. version of Musicals indicates that the musical has been pared down to about a 60 minute running time, with all the "adult" stuff removed, and so, had the company decided to run the show as per, then the 3pm show should have finished at 4pm. However, even with their deciding to put a 20 minute interval in the proceedings, the show was not over until 5pm, which means that far too much time was spent on changing scenes, playing all the incidental music whether appropriate or not, and all this had the effect of diluting any pace and narrative drive that the cast were trying so desperately to build. Each short scene was preceded and succeeded by blackouts, pre-recorded playbacks, and long pauses whilst the set was changed. It became boring and predictable, and sadly the youngsters in the audience were not able to keep their focus either. Perhaps a much simpler, multi-purpose set would have worked better, and not used all the music supplied.
However, the costuming was of a good standard, and the characters for the main leads were well chosen. Oliver Williams provided a very cheery and personable Buddy, and was very easy to watch. He was ably supported by Abigail Jones (Jovie), Amelia Ubhi (Santa Claus), Kaya Read (Walter), Daisy Allen (Emily), Anthony McCoy (Michael), and Ruby Moores (Greenway). And in turn they were all supported by a lively ensemble playing the minor characters as required. The choral singing was lovely, and I enjoyed the choreography too, although I had the distinct impression that given a larger dance area, some of the cast could have done much more. (Sparklejolly was my favourite).
A feelgood piece of seasonal family entertainment produced with passion and heart.
Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu
On - 16.11.25
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