Acorn Antiques the Musical

You have to admire any Amateur Society which takes on the task of bringing to the stage version of a show which enjoyed great success on the small screen. Few people I would suggest are unaware of the characters in Acorn Antiques featured by Victoria Wood on so many of her shows and now brought to life, as it were, in a musical version. The problem is will the theatre audience make comparisons with the original professional players? Can an amateur group manufacture the same effects which TV can produce so easily with it’s ability to stop/ start the action. The answer in the case of St Pauls Operatic Society is an emphatic YES. Victoria Woods scripts are always funny and right from the opening the audience found themselves laughing not only at the lines but at the clever way production director Ann Warr used the characters and the action to complement those lines and the entire cast did her proud in this regard. Miss Babs (Maxine Hughes), Miss Berta (Joanna Barker) caught the mood right from the start and the scene with Mimi (Rose Kenny) and Hugh (Kevin Martin) set the tone for the rest of the show. Were Rose’s suspenders painted on? Mr Clifford (Lee Griffiths ) was absolutely right and the moments he shared with Miss Berta were excellent. Miss Bonnie (Jenna Watkin) was the villain of the piece, at least to start with, and caught the essence of the character from her first entrance. I loved the bit where she went to leave the shop but kept coming back with the rest of the cast going and coming back with her, very funny. Tony (Matt Harvey) was so laid back I thought he might fall over, just the way he stood was enough to make the audience laugh, this was a stellar performance. Richard Orr (Derek) and Bob Chapman (Mr Watkins) championed the Gay Brigade beautifully and Jean Sanchez, Francesca Anyon, Sue Rannard, Paula Hunter, Kathy Jordan, Marc Smith and Maximillian Chase maintained the high standard which we saw throughout. Have I forgotten anyone? Who? Oh Mrs Overall (Penny Morris) what can I say about this lady - eat your heart out Julie Walters. Simply wonderful. You won’t leave after this show humming the tunes, but like all of Miss Woods offerings they were witty and clever and musical director Andrew Peckham certainly schooled his cast very well. Chorographer Evelyn Clowes showed that she knows her way in the theatre and lets not forget the rehearsal pianist Sian James, so often overlooked but so necessary.
There were moments of sheer bliss, the stair lift for example and on the night I saw the show a wonderful moment when “Tony” executed a slide on his knees right across the stage and overshot the mark bumping into Miss Babs, how shall I put it, at bust height to the great delight of the audience. The pair of them almost corpsed which made me think it was not planned exactly as it turned out, or was it? Then there was the backcloth which swayed “outside the shop” exactly as it should and so many more lovely bits of business. The whole production was a great effort from everyone concerned and a sparkling success.

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