All Shook Up

When I first moved to the West Midlands, I lived in Cradley Heath. I had heard of Cradley Heath Amateur Operatic Society (CHAOS) and the wonderful reputation they had. When I became NODA District 8 Rep in 2021 I was eager to finally see and review CHAOS. However due to circumstances beyond all of our control this was not to be until this year. Tonight, I was fully introduced to CHAOS with the show All Shook Up, their first show after a 3-year absence.

From the moment I entered the venue, there was a genuine feeling of family all around me, from the members of the public who had arrived to see the show to the amazing Chair of the company, Hilda Faulkner. Thank you so much for your wonderful hospitality.

It was obvious Hilda is extremely proud of the company and this was reaffirmed by speaking and listening to others. I believe Hilda remains such a driving force and inspiration for the company.

CHAOS have proud connections to District 8 in the West Midlands and the Black Country which go back over 100 years. They are the longest established Amateur Operatic Society in the Black Country and therefore the oldest company in District 8! A couple of members include, Michael J Bradley, who is a member of the committee but also the Co-Ordinator of The Whats On Diary which he has devised and looked after for over 30 years. This is a unique and wonderful way of keeping the community of companies in District 8 informed and supported of future productions. Also, Dennis Price-Foley was there tonight as front of house manager. Dennis was a former producer of CHAOS but also a former NODA Representative and now a life member. 

The show All Shook Up is not one that I was familiar with. I vaguely understood from the title it was a musical inspired by “Elvis Presley” and I also heard it was loosely based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. As I was watching this show by CHAOS, I felt an instantaneous joy. I witnessed an incredibly high standard and quality production and some fine acting from the members of CHAOS. The evening was simply a great night and All Shook Up took the audience on a brilliant ride. They were totally on board.  

There were moments where the show worked really well because of the strong direction by Steve Humpherson and other moments where timing, interaction, awareness and presence shone through which helped with pace and dynamics. There was clear distinction of the tangled stories of unrequited love with some strong acting abilities and the Choreography by Salli Gage was incredible with the company tight in performing the routines. Musical Director Edd Caine provided his experience to complete a winning combination.

The story is set in the 1950’s and focuses on a roustabout called Chad who rides a motorbike. Chad likes Rock and Roll and loves attention, especially with the ladies. When Chad’s motorbike breaks down in a sleepy American Town, he finds a mechanic called Natalie. Chad has a wonderfully free attitude when he arrives in this town, it is not long after strange things start to happen. Chad fixes a jukebox and the people of the town are kick started in finding love, but also some were finally questioning about their true hidden feelings which they held onto for a long time; sometimes with complicated results. The Mayor of the town Matilda Hyde soon finds she has a battle on her hands in trying to stop all the romantic action but soon finds love herself in the most unexpected way. Natalie wants Chad to notice her, but his interest is elsewhere trying to win the affections of Miss Sandra, the Museum Hostess. So, Natalie disguises herself as a man called Ed to try and win the attention of Chad by being “one of the lads”. Well, the theme of “you can’t help who you fall in love with” certainly was very prominent. This was handled marvellously as Chad struggled through his dilemma of falling in love with Ed (who was really Natalie in disguise) these moments were really well acted by Karl Wunderlich.

Karl also had the right amount of charisma throughout the show and there were also some lovely moments when he interacted with audience members. There were lots of interesting touches and dynamics which kept the show at a great pace with some nice surprises. Karl certainly looked like he enjoyed this role very much.

Liz Compton who played Natalie was stunning and incredibly talented. She had excellent timing with conviction and depth. She was a strong lead and extremely talented. Liz certainly stood out and was a joy to watch.

The excellent Hatty Humpherson played Lorraine, a young girl working in a diner who falls in love with Dean, the mayor’s son! There were many lovely moments and a convincing mix of chemistry between them. Dean was played by Zac Psaras who had such a nice unassuming presence on stage and he was perfectly cast for this role.

Miss Sandra, the museum hostess was played by Brogan Guilliatt. Brogan had such a powerful voice and was very poised throughout the show with a strong consistency to her reactions and a believable performance throughout, especially when she rejected Chad’s advances.

Kirk Andrews who played the character of Dennis did a marvellous job as the geek who was trying to win the affection of Natalie. This character is a bit of an underdog and Kirk’s ability in making the audience feel for Dennis came out in abundance.

Sylvia played by Emma Newton and Jim, played by J .Paul Murdock were also great together, with some nice moments of chemistry. J. Paul Murdock’s interpretation of hip swinging was something to behold and this cemented his skill as a performer in timing and physical comedy.

Kay Woodhouse played Mayor Matilda Hyde. Kay was amazing to watch. Mayor Hyde resented feelings of spontaneity, excitement and love in such a way she banned it from the town. Her back story revealed the main reason why. The Song “You’re the Devil in Disguise” was my favourite in the show. When Sheriff Earl played by Peter Goldsmith proclaimed his love for her; Kay had a great ability to show a sense of surprise, but this also showed a sneaky side of genuine excitement.

The show was full of energy and enthusiasm. Each and every member of the company had a smile on their face and the energy remained high throughout. This was due to each member having a clear focus and everybody appeared to have a lot of fun. The lines were delivered with conviction and with good diction. The accents were all very good and consistent. The right moments were not overplayed and you felt empathy and connections which were easily relatable. CHAOS were an absolute blast to watch and gave a memorable performance. I truly believe that the feeling of family, community and support went a long way to nurture this talent and produce this show with love and care.

Thank you for the kind invitation and I am looking forward to seeing you again.

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