A Little Night Music

Very much a Sondheim show, with curious accompaniments, and very difficult score, but I felt that the cast, under the direction of Derek Blyth a new MD for PBGS, created some good musical moments, with charm, a dose of irony, and some good performances.

The story was quite detailed, and I thought the Director managed the cast in such a way that the story was clear, which I enjoyed.

Director Richard Syms worked his cast well within the bounds of the set, and I liked the tableau effects for the quintet and various characters throughout the piece.  The opening with the quintet on stage was striking.  The show was a huge challenge for PBGS and on the whole they pulled it off.

The set was well thought-out and the different performance levels worked well on the small stage, and meant that scene changes were kept to a minimum, most of which were accomplished well.

The lighting was good, it enhanced the set and the cast, whilst sound was excellent, always a pleasure to hear an un-mic’d cast, projection is key, I heard every word, and the band v stage sound balance was excellent, so very well done to everyone.

Costumes were mostly good, I was very impressed with the gents suits, they all fitted well, and waistcoats met trousers etc – very good attention to detail.

The quintet of Annie Parker, Alison Gibbs, Claire Moore, Charles Mills and Sue Wookey looked good and delivered the music very well.

Vikki Rehm was a charming Fredrika, she got the essence of the young girl, and good relationships with her mother and grandmother.

Madame Leonora was played extremely well by Rachel Thomas, an undoubted matriarch, ruling her family with a rod of iron.  Rachel has a lovely gravelly voice that lent itself well to the character, very good portrayal.  I wonder how many games of Patience she played during the run!

Khushil Dep played Frid, the family retainer, I really admired the way he stood throughout Act 1, scarcely moving, but he got his moment in Act 2, with the lovely Petra, played and sung beautifully by Jessica Hallett.  A great rather erotic relationship, that gave another dimension to the piece.

Graham Breeze played Fredrik with a certain savoir-faire that suited the part, which he sang beautifully, whilst getting the nuances of the slightly frustrated husband with a virgin wife, and his meeting up again with his former lover Desiree, and the scenarios that followed.

Shayn Dickens as Henrik, Fredrik’s son, created an exuberant young theology student, not sure what he wanted to do, but having a healthy interest in certain ladies, including his stepmother, I enjoyed his angst ridden performance.

Rebecca Badham gave a good portrayal as Anne, Fredrik’s much younger wife, you saw her uncertainties at being married to an older man, and not prepared to consummate the marriage, whilst the joy in running away with Henrik was very clear.  A good rounded performance, sung well.

Paula Fraser was a fine Desiree, the object of certain gentlemen’s interest.  A good part well-performed, I thoroughly enjoyed Paula’s rendition of Send in the Clowns, an iconic song, which she performed with great sensitivity.

Count Malcolm, Desiree’s other lover, was very well played by Graham Jackson.  I loved the conversations between him and his wife, and then with Desiree, a good interpretation.

Countess Malcolm was played by Nicole Santelmann, who gave the lady a sardonic edge, which suited the part well, and made her different to the other ladies, very well achieved.

Teresa Newham, Jon Newham, Amanda Clarke and Manda Fraser played other smaller parts, but all integrated well with the rest of the cast.

All in all I thought the production was well-performed, with good musicality.  I did not like the actual show, as I am not a fan of Sondheim in general, but I thought PBGS rose to the challenge, and there were some excellent performances.

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