Around The Shows in 80 Years

A fabulous evening’s entertainment to celebrate 80 years of Heckmonwike Players with this homegrown revue cleverly pulled together around the theme of celebrating shows performed by them and the “it would be nice to do” shows. The set was simple which allowed for lots of interpretation as to how to stage and choreograph routines.

It’s impossible to mention all who took part but suffice it to say, all were in good voice.  It was good to see some familiar faces on stage, mixed with faces from the past and new faces too.

The first act took us on a journey through medleys of songs from shows performed by the Players over the years. If I’m totally honest, I’m not a fan of Jekyll & Hyde but loved the concept of ‘Façade’ and the reveal of t-shirts bearing the labels of ‘traitor’ or ‘faithful’ on them. A real twist and link to a modern cultural phenomenon. From here we journeyed with Rogers and Hammerstein to Oklahoma, The Black Hills of Dakota and finally to the South Pacific. In Oklahoma, it was clear that musical director Jonathan Wilby had worked hard to get the most out of the harmonies from the cast and despite the small number of men on stage the sound produced was rich and well rounded. Sheelagh Forsyth’s rendition of Secret Love was very simply staged but this allowed the audience to focus solely on her lovely tone and emotional acting thorough song. James Creegan’s performance of Some Enchanted Evening was another tender moment and I thought he used the dynamics in the songs to great effect.

The Players were joined in this celebration by members of Central Pointe Dance and they treated us to a collaboration of Getting To Know You with Sheelagh Forsyth. It was a shame that the sound quality wasn’t en pointe during this as it was difficult to hear the children. A touching moment was when Isla came on to perform ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie and was soon joined by Sophie Hardill who had played the title role with The Players in the past.

After a short break, Act 2 resumed with songs from Chess which was to be their show in 2021 until Covid stuck. Following this, we were presented with songs from Jesus Christ Superstar and the highlight for me was Katie Pennant and Beckie Perkin’s rendition of ‘Could We Start Again Please?”.

The children of the dance school returned with songs from Les Miserables and Matilda The Musical which they delivered with enthusiasm.

However, the two standout moments for me were Sophie Hardill performing “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” from Phantom and Lucy Wood performing “She Used To Be Mine” from Waitress. Sophie captivated the audience and left them stunned with her soprano vocal range whilst Lucy delivered a characterful performance that drew the audience in on her journey.

The production team of Jeremy Shoesmith (Director), Jonathan Wilby (MD), and choreographers Lucy Wood and Chantelle Cammish should be congratulated for a well executed concept.

Whilst there was many things to compliment, I must make a note of the sound issues encountered throughout that did detract from the overall production. Too often there was feedback from the microphones or they weren’t turned off when performers had exited and the audience could hear conversations happening offstage. This is something that should be easy to rectify but would help to lift the overall quality of production.

Congratulations to Heckmonwike Players on your 80th Anniversary.

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