All Shook Up

At the heart of the production were the performances of all the Principals who brought the whole show to life. They kept the action constantly moving, the atmosphere light, and the quality of both their acting and musical delivery at the highest level. Two key performances were delivered by an excellent Sean Hynes, as Chad the roustabout, travelling from town to town in search of ‘Burning Love’, who literally drove the show throughout the night, and Katie Lee as Natalie / Ed. Katie gave a performance of great maturity, apparent ease and great humour. Natalie initially falls for Chad but more importantly, through the various twists and turns of the plot, grows to ‘love’ the strong person she becomes. 

Another tour de force was delivered by Joe Drury Jnr as Dennis who wore his heart on his sleeve throughout the show as Chad’s sidekick. Dennis had no malice or anything other than love and sympathy for his fellow man and woman, and Joe ensured that Dennis grew in confidence and presence throughout the night. Sydney Price brought just the right level of sass to Sandra the museum curator with an apparent indifference to the opposite sex. Sydney’s acting delivery was superb throughout the night. 

Diane Hills brought exactly the right combination of humour, frustration and sarcasm to the role of Sylvia and her vocals captivated the audience throughout the night and especially in ‘There’s Always Me’. Joe Drury Snr’s Jim, Natalie’s father, provided a very convincing foil for Diane. This included his rather desperate attempts to emulate Chad by returning to the biker dress of his youth. Joe’s naturalistic acting performance won the sympathy of all the audience. 

Greg Morgan played Dean, the son of the Town’s overpowering Mayor. Greg ensured that Dean developed a backbone through the show putting his love for Lorraine (Charlotte Cavedasca) ahead of his mother’s approval. Charlotte herself delivered an assured performance throughout the night – her vocals were excellent and her character development a pleasure to watch. 

Sarah Drury gave the role of Matilda, the sexually repressed Mayor of the town, every ounce of her vocal and acting prowess.  So much so that at the end of the night when the ‘worm turned’ (an excellent almost silent performance from Rob Morley as Earl), a large slice of the audience were cheering their approval. 

Although the Principals drove this production the work of the chorus is not to be overlooked. Their comic timing, energy and dance performance in ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Devil in Disguise’, ‘All Shook Up’, and ‘Burning Love’ to name just a few all added to the enjoyment of the audience throughout the night. 

The individual and ensemble performances and indeed the performance was clearly the result of a significant amount of work from the production team. The quality of the lighting, sound, the band (who delivered a great rock accompaniment without challenging the vocals) and the rapid set changes ensured that the cast had a great platform to launch their performances. 

Well done to all – a very impressive show and a credit to you all. 

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