An Adaptation of The Little Match Girl

This was the first production of the junior group at St Herbert’s and what a lovely way to start. The staging was simple but very effective and I loved the projections used.

The props and costumes were nicely co-ordinated by cast and crew and the young people who make up the G Tech team of Luke Wilson, Cameron Morgan, Jayden Corcoran, Joe Berry, Eliott Knight, Stephen Jackson, Drew McCoy and Adam Daey did a sterling job on lights and sound and all things technical considering the poor weather the day before meaning many couldn’t get to the venue until the day of the show. These young guys who attend Oldham College next door to the Grange Arts Centre really worked their socks off- well done on making this a great production.

The Production team with the addition of Katy May-Parker as Assistant Director did a great job on casting, musical choices, the look of the show and the confidence injected into these young performers, many of which have never been on stage before.

The supporting cast and chorus all put in lovely performances, smiling throughout and entertaining the audience who thoroughly enjoyed the show. I can’t mention everyone by name but I do look forward to seeing you all on your continued journeys on stage in future productions. The songs and poems were very well delivered by everyone who had solo lines.

The principal cast did a great job with Lia Jeffrey putting in a beautiful performance as the Little Match Girl. Her acting was great with lovely vocals on her songs.

Her Mother played by Maisie Byron gave a great acting performance and sounded great on “Proud of Your Girl”.

Laura Dawe as the Narrator had great stage presence, clear diction (so important in the role) and gorgeous vocals on all her numbers. I especially enjoyed No One is Alone from Into the Woods which showed her voice off so well.

Shannon Mitchelle as the Spirit Narrator looked a little nervous at first but with her fantastic vocals has no reason to be. Her acting as well as her vocals were a treat to eyes and ears and I hope she will continue with both.

The Little Match Girl’s twin spirit dancer played by Gabriella Small and the Mothers twin spirit played by Emily Crotty put in some gorgeous dance moves and well done to Megan the choreographer on all the dances which looked very effective.

Ellen Earnshaw sang “Where are you Christmas?” in Act 2 as a solo which sounded stunning and was acted well too tugging on the heartstrings.

Watching shows such as these make me realise that the future generation of performers will uphold the wealth of talent we currently have in the North West and the investment that Faye and Laura have instilled in them already. Here’s to many more performances allowing these young performers to perfect their craft. Well done everyone onstage and off, thank you so much for the invite and look forward to seeing you all again soon.

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