A Little of What you Fancy

A Little of What you Fancy was essentially a Revue of period songs interspersed with skits and jokes performed in Period costume. I must now be beginning to show my age as I sang along quietly to myself to many of the songs. (I confess to having performed in many Old Time Music Hall show just after the turn of the century).

Having chatted with the society chairman after the performance I learnt how difficult it was to erect any type of scenery in a venue where one is not allowed to fix anything to the floor, walls or ceiling. There out of necessity the staging was set around a small stage set in the corner of the room alongside a ‘brick’ wall decorated with photographs of cast members in various poses, to the left was a lectern for the Show’s Chairman. As this was performed in a large room of the local Conservative Club the seating was set out around tables and benefitted from the proximity of the adjacent bar, this greatly helped in giving a convivial atmosphere to the revue.

The show progressed in a traditional style with acts being introduced by the chairman who cheerfully interjected at times with members of the company as they came on and off from their various skits and songs. This went down well with the audience.

Despite being small in number and mainly of a senior age group the songs were sung with gusto and the whole show moved along reasonably swiftly, there were two entrances on and off the stage, at the rear and naturally at the front where the stage was designed to look like a bandstand/end of pier stage. There was a good mix of songs with a mix of jokes and/or skits, the costumes were appropriate to the song or performance as required, sometimes indicated by a small change and occasionally a complete costume, for when the ladies were in bathing costume.

The sound was good so that the voices of the soloists and some duets were clear and well enunciated with some accents being added for effect. With the limited space the choreography was of necessity relatively straight forward, however this movement was performed smoothly with skill. The use of props was limited but used effectively when required. Lighting likewise was straightforward as the height of the room did not allow for anything large, however it was more than adequate and lit well the performance area.

As a small group the cast must be congratulated on the way they performed, bringing alive songs (and memories, I’m sure), for the humour shown and experienced, they were kept busy throughout the show, with only an odd rest. There were two interludes with a guitar and singing from a lady and gentlemen which added to the variety and humour. As always there was also the opportunity for the audience to join in and sing heartily. I understand that the idea of the revue was the idea of one of the members who then put this together and directed and choreographed the evening so congratulations for putting together an enjoyable evening.

Finally, a word about music, a show like this would not be complete without a good musical director, so I would just like to say thank you for the musical accompaniment throughout and thank you for keeping your singers in line and in tune.

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