41st Annual North Devon Gang Show

May I thank you for the welcome and hospitality that I received on attending the 41st Annual Gang Show.

There was a wonderful atmosphere in the audience waiting to see their children, grand Children nephews and nieces and members of their various packs, groups etc. With great anticipation! They certainly weren’t disappointed!

We had a lovely overture from Derek Lang Helen Lang and David Bunker then the curtains opened 

The opening was great with the Gang in 1920 style costumes singing and dancing with great enthusiasm, energy and drive!

From then on, you knew you were in for a treat! To get so many on stage without it looking crowded is an achievement in itself! To think that there were, at times, over sixty on stage!

  To mention all the Gang show cast by name would be impossible here but suffice it to say they all achieved a high level of skills whether it was dancing, singing or acting. Not one member let it down there were some great touches in the show and obviously a lot of rehearsals had taken place to  achieve this standard ,so good is that anyone keen can have a go on stage and gain an experience(not to mention a badge!) that will last them for the rest of their lives!

The chorus singing was clear, and the soloists were great. In the first act there were some good themes with terrific choreography. I particularly liked The Rhythm of Life and Broadway Bonanza. The Harry Potter theme in Wand-erful was cleverly done and someone had obviously worked hard on the costumes (as throughout)and  impressively they moved seamlessly from one song to another, some recorded and with backing and some with just their own voices and a superb trio of  accompanists  

Red Hot Cinders was very funny, and panto was sent up very well indeed without going over the top!.  They mastered the art of appearing to make mistakes and ad libbing when actually it was perfectly rehearsed and just what was intended!

Act two Departure Lounge was very well done indeed, with some wonderful singing and impressive costumes (again) As with all the other acts, the electronic backcloth was chosen with care to complement the theme.

We’re all Going on a Summer Holiday really stood out!

Camping Fun was a great sketch, the youngsters came over so naturally obviously reliving their own camping experiences. A couple more similar sketches would have been welcome as the acting talents could then, really have come to the fore ,talking of which, maybe this sketch could have been performed to the front of the stage, rather than hugging the back and restricting themselves somewhat.

Reflections had some great movement and was different and innovative, as for the various Elton John costumes in Do it Dwight, again costume dept pulled out all the stops.

Go out with a Boom, well they sure did with a super Finale.

This was an evening that will stand out for me, it was such a thrill to see so many youngster enjoying themselves, giving it everything they had with such enthusiasm and skill, remembering, not only the words of every song but the dance moves as well. Not one member of this Gang Show stood still because it was go, go, go throughout the show, always on the move and as already mentioned moving from one song right into the next one with ease! Just so wonderful to see. To the young Directors Carrie , Emily, Sophie and Chloe my heartiest congratulations and to all connected with the show for a job well done ,the sheer discipline it must have taken for everyone to come together like that was a skill in itself and a huge credit to  all involved in Scouting and Guiding.

I just cannot wait for the 42nd Gang show, if this one was anything to go by!

Graham Liverton Regional Councillor NODA Southwest

 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.