Come So Far

So... another week in the life of a theatre mum...

This week was another fairly busy one...we started with the eldest's usual Monday night singing lesson ...he has the BEST singing teacher...he started lessons with Claire a couple of years ago now. He was around 13 and his voice was just breaking...J he went to her at just the right time.  He loves his singing lessons, he has gone from strength to strength and we have seen his singing confidence grow and his range and technique come on amazingly...the progress he has made is incredible. I can't recommend Claire more highly.

Every six months she puts on "showcases" for her students where they have a chance to perform  what they have been working on in lessons in a relaxed atmosphere, where everyone is supportive. 

For some people it's the first time they have ever stood up and sang solo in front of people and to be honest I think they are all incredible just to do that! The best I have ever managed is dodgy karaoke after a few too many cocktails...

On Thursday night it was J's showcase and he sang Someone To Fall Back On by Jason Robert Brown and This World Will Remember Me from the musical "Bonnie & Clyde" (which I LOVE!).

We had a lovely evening watching the other talented students - they were all so TALENTED!! J was the last to perform and it's safe to say he nailed it. What a fabulous evening.

Then this weekend it was my two smaller kids' turn. They go to a theatre group in Warrington called Showkids UK, which is for children age 5 to 11.  For the last 7 months they have been working on a production of Hairspray Jr.  I will write a separate review of the show, so no spoilers, except to say that Warrington is a lucky town to have so many up and coming young musical theatre performers, waiting in the wings!  My two are (I think) the youngest boy and girl who go along and I was worried about them doing two shows in one day on Saturday from a tiredness point of view - especially after extra rehearsals on Thursday and Friday in the ridiculous heat of the recent heatwave.  However, kids being kids, they seemed to find the energy from somewhere and just nailed their performances. Super proud showbiz mum.

Showkids has given my shy 7 year old and drama queen 5 year old somewhere to go each week to have fun, make friends, act, sing and dance with a great group of super talented tutors (CJ's favourite people in the world!).  If your child loves singing and dancing then Showkids is a great way for them to spend their time each Sunday.

So....the next few weeks are relatively quiet in comparison!! It's holiday season after all...time to relax, calm down and brace ourselves for a busy September.

Be back soon!

www.clairecannonvoice.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/SHOWkidsUK/

REVIEW: THE JURY - THE BRINDLEY THEATRE

When I heard about The Jury, a brand new musical, which had its world premiere at The Brindley Theatre this week, I was intrigued.  After all, I love crime shows on the telly! And I studied a bit of law at uni....  And I (obviously) love musicals!!!  Perfect for me!  That was it, I had to go...

And I wasn't disappointed.  This musical was written by Ashley MA Walsh (music and lyrics) and Amy Fletcher (book) and directed by Joseph Meighan and tells the story of the members of a jury called to a murder trial.  It follows their lives and thought processes and events as the trial goes on and by the end all their lives have been changed forever.

The case is about Jason Schofield who has been charged with the murder of his wife Emily - but he is claiming self-defence.  It's up to our jury members to listen to the evidence and come to a majority verdict - guilty or not guilty?

The cast all seemed to understand their characters well and were very believable.  I really can't choose a favourite as the jury members were all such different people with different tales to tell - but they worked together so well as an ensemble.  

The music (all played magnificently on piano by composer Walsh visible to the audience at the back of the stage) was beautiful.  There were no big showstoppers to speak of  - but a wonderful musical narrative (with some to-die-for-harmonies) intertwined with a mixture of memorable songs - "Let's Play A Game" by Debbie the am dram fan (a wonderful Bethany Grace) was extremely funny at the outset, as she got other jurors to try and role play the crime -  but ended in one of the characters (Darren the work-obsessed CEO played brilliantly by Ben Cupit). questioning their own actions and unexpected responses to the situation ("That Wasn't Me").

As the trial continued and the jurors got to know each other, the audience too got to learn about their lives.  A song by the quietly religious "Hannah from Marketing" (Laura Meaton) about the loss of her child reduced me to tears.  The young and chavvy Jodie (Alexandra Wood) eventually befriended the retired Alma (Elizabeth Brooks) (and introduced her to the phrase WTF...!)  Family man and builder Andy (Jake Hankey) found a new career through his friendship with Carol (Janice Fryett) the building surveyor, who had finally found one man in the world that she could rely on.  Tim Sanderson played Simon the university lecturer who kept a firm hold on proceedings and you knew that he really wanted to be the foreperson all along.  Harry Turner was played so well by John Thacker - he did a fabulous job as the youngest juror with a secret past.  Charlie Culkin played Laura, the stay at home mum who almost jeopardises the trial, and another juror that almost does that is Tom the Media Graduate played brilliantly by Josh Hankey - it's fair to say these jurors broke a few rules but it provided us, the audience, with a fantastic story to follow and become caught up in.

The musical tackled difficult issues and was incredibly thought provoking.  Issues that haven't really been dealt with before in theatre, such as female and male domestic violence, child loss, gender identity, the care system....these were difficult subject matters but important ones nonetheless.  The musical highlighted the importance of talking....

 I really liked all the modern references - references to blogging (of course!) and Snapchat and so on...

But the best thing for me about this musical is that the audience were taken on the journey WITH the members of the jury - by the end of the show we were all just desperate to know what the verdict would be, we had invested ourselves thoroughly into the story and all had our own views on whether our accused had done the crime or not....

.....and we were left with the biggest cliffhanger ever...! 

But it got people talking.  In the theatre foyer the discussion was all about "guilty or not guilty" - whose side were you on? 

And we were all left with the message that "we must talk" - which can only be a good thing.

I think that The Jury is a fantastic concept, which was well directed, gripping, thought provoking and gritty ...and a musical which deserves to be seen and heard.

www.facebook.com/TheJuryUK
www.twitter.com/TheJuryUK
www.thebrindley.org.uk

REVIEW: DNA BY DENNIS KELLY AT THE BRINDLEY THEATRE

I was lucky enough to visit The Brindley to see First Act's performance of the play DNA by Dennis Kelly.  First Act are a Warrington based drama company providing acting lessons for children and adults as well as working with local schools.  This production was the result of six months of rehearsal by the Advanced Class for those aged 15-17.

The play itself, if you're not familiar with it tells the dark story of a group of teenagers who believe they have killed someone (Adam) by accident and their attempts to cover up what has happened.  It follows the characters of Leah and Phil, Mark and Jan, Lou, Brian, Cathy, Richard and John and their behaviours in the aftermath of this accident and how each of them reacts to the situation they find themselves in.

Director Kit Phillips used a clever blend of live action alongside pre-filmed sequences which were projected behind the stage.  The use of film I thought really helped to enhance what was going on in front of me and didn't detract from the action at all.  It helped with understanding the thoughts inside the heads of these mixed up teens.

The set was very simple, just some trees and foliage scattered around which meant that the focus was on the intense performances on the stage.

There were nine young actors in this cast and I honestly can't fault any of them.  Such a fantastic ensemble.  Their reading of Dennis Kelly's difficult-to-read dialogue - the sentences are almost staccato like in places - was brilliant throughout.

Issy played Leah - she had so many complicated speeches as she talked away to the almost-silent-but-well-fed Phil (played by Ethan) - and she conveyed greater and greater emotion as the play went on and as her character got more and more frustrated...Ethan delivered his lines believably and gave Phil's calm and considered instructions to the rest of the group in the callous manner required.

Mark and Jan were played by Ed and Erin.  They worked so well together as a team and the part of the play where they explained what had happened to Adam that went so wrong - was extremely moving.  Very powerful stuff.

Connor had the duel roles of John Tate and Adam (kind of giving the plot away a little bit here!) - John starts off as controlling and bullying and Connor played this very well.  We later learn that the character of John Tate becomes reclusive as a result of the group's actions. Connor then reappeared as Adam and delivered an incredible portrayal of the injured and suffering victim of bullying.

Gemma played Lou, a young character who spoke in mostly simple sentences ultimately due to her fear - Gemma managed to convey that fear and sense of doom for the future so incredibly well,

Ellie played the role of Cathy - the "psycho" character who loved what was happening just a little bit too much.  Cathy showed no remorse and found the situation "exciting" - and Ellie seemed to relish this role and played it fantastically.

Richard was played by Tom. Richard starts off as quite a strong character but gets put in his place by John Tate early on, ruling out his chance to be a leader.  He delivered a fantastic monologue at the end letting the audience know what had happened to most of the characters.

Finally Brian was played by Jamie.  Brian is the "weakest link" whose character unravelled before the audiences eyes as he was bullied by the others into their plan.  He brilliantly demonstrated a range of emotions from upset to terrified to completely losing the plot by the end of the play.

I felt that particularly well done were the reactions of the other characters while the main action or particular monologue was going on - the characterisation was fantastic throughout.

If I can find a negative it would be that there wasn't a proper length bow at the end! It's great that the actors stayed in character for their applause but it was hard for the audience to properly show their appreciation!!

Overall Kit and this young cast produced a gripping "edge-of-your-seat" play tackling the difficult theme of bullying in a unique way.  It left me emotionally drained but extremely impressed.

Can't wait to see First Act's next production!

MP

www.firstactdrama.co.uk
www.thebrindley.org.uk

Non Stop

It's been a busy week at Greatest Showblog HQ.....

Yes, we've had a SHOW WEEK!!!

You know, that week where you live on toast and get no sleep.....

My eldest son was appearing in a play, which meant rehearsals, dress rehearsals, sorting costumes, lifts to places, tickets, marketing the show (like a good showbiz mum), and finally watching both shows in two successive nights and being emotionally wrung out by the end of it...and just about the proudest parent EVER!!!!

On top of this, it was the end of the school term, so there was arranging presents for teachers, attending assemblies, desperately trying to make the school uniform stay in one piece for just a day or two more....(it didn't, really)....

As well as this, my 5yo daughter had a casting for a TV ad - HOW EXCITING! I signed her up with an agency a couple of years ago (mostly because everybody told me her hair was so amazing that I just HAD TO!) and she finally got a casting! We got to go to Leeds (near the Emmerdale set, no less) (not that I actually have time to watch Emmerdale) and she did a little audition.  I am not expecting her to get it, as it was her first time but still it was fun for her and an afternoon out for me!

Then on Saturday night just the little matter of attending a WORLD PREMIERE for a new musical.  You know, as you do.....

And as well as all of the above we had the normal lessons and...oh yes, I went to my day job.....!

It's been NON STOP!

I will write reviews for the aforementioned shows a little later on this week - so no spoilers...you'll have to come back later!

Anyway, a busy one and next week we've got....oh yes...ANOTHER SHOW WEEK!!!

Watch this space!

Something's Coming

Right here goes....I have decided to launch another blog! This one is going to be all things theatre!

My eldest son is big on performing arts and I rabbit on about it on my family/parenting/lifestyle blog https://taleof5littleducks.blogspot.com/ quite a lot. 

(And you may have noticed that a lot of my blog posts have titles pertaining to show tunes yes?)

My two youngest children have also now caught the bug and so I find I am spending an increasing amount of time at rehearsals, talking about rehearsals, planning shows, helping at shows, sorting costumes, and well, watching shows!

I thought that as I am now firmly entrenched in this world and I like writing little blog posts from time to time that I would launch another blog focussing on this world!

The aim is to cover life as a theatre mum, but also to include reviews of shows I have been to see  - and I see quite a lot.....and I am not at all using this as an excuse to see even more!!

Well, maybe just a bit...

I have some great shows lined up over the next few weeks and I am very excited to see them and review them and share them with you.

As well as keep you updated with what my kids are up to!

Watch this space!