Beauty and The Beast

The performing arts groups in and around St Neots currently have a venue problem, their usual venue, The Priory Centre is presently closed for renovation and isn’t likely to open for at least another year. So, all groups are having to squeeze dates out of other already overcrowded venues in and around the town and local vicinity. Thus, Riverside had managed to book a weekend at the beginning of May to put on not one, but two different productions from two different age groups over a Saturday and Sunday (with Dress on the Friday) at Little Gransden Village Hall, a few miles south-east of St Neots. Its stage and auditorium are well suited, but their limited backstage can be a challenge for a cast of any size. However, Riverside certainly made the best of it and royally entertained an audience full of parents, grandparents and siblings plus a Noda Rep, quite a remarkable feat of acclimatisation and logistics.  Even more so when you factor the further challenge of the hall being a polling station – not planned when they booked it.

This Junior production, directed by Jacqui Coleman with MD Emily Wainwright-Meekins was the stage version of the Disney classic with book by Linda Woolverton, music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Howard Ashmand and Tim Rice where the young prince is transformed by a spell into the Beast and all his household into inanimate objects. He must learn to love and be loved before he can transform back into being a prince again. Enter Belle…!”

The stage, under the management of the director herself was, quite sensibly in view of the time constraints for hiring the venue, bare with various sized cube blocks used for all seating and for elevation where height was required, these were all moved around between scenes by a hardworking stage crew, which all worked very well. The action took place most downstage, as the upstage was kitted out for the older children’s show’s orchestra, 13, which was to take place that evening.

Lighting by Ryan Windscheffel provided a very good atmosphere for each scene and, considering the limited get in time, never missed a cue with some clever use of LED orbital ceiling lights.

Sound, despite the valiant hard work of designer Tony Rawson, was a bit of a problem, especially to my aging ears. Certainly not Tony Rawson’s fault as the sound cues themselves were faultless, however perhaps more consideration could have been shown by the production team to these fledgling actors who even with face mic’s wouldn’t have been able to compete with the sound level. as the young unmic’d actors, a lot of whom had never been on stage before and are still learning the art of projection, were too softly spoken to be clearly audible. It would have been difficult to follow the plot had it not been so well known.  Short of putting face mics on everybody I’m not sure what could have been done about that. Songs however were performed by the lead singers with handheld mics, which worked very well and the music for this production was faultlessly sequenced though the sound desk. When we saw the evening performance by the older members and how much improved their projection was it was clear that Emily Wainwright-Meekins’ hard work in teaching projection had paid off.

Costumes coordinated by Natalie Rozanska were very cleverly done. The actors were mostly in their own clothes but kitted out with some appropriate symbols of their parts, the best of which was probably the costume for Lumière, with gloves which were two candlesticks.

Choreography by Ellen Tipping was simple, well-pitched to the ages of the young actors, well-rehearsed and enthusiastically executed by the cast. Nice job!

Our actors started off fairly tentatively as you would expect for a lot of first timers on a strange stage, but they visible grew in confidences as the show progressed. Belle, played by Nelly gave a very self-assured performance, putting her character across very well indeed. Sammy, playing the Beast certainly let his presence be known with a very appropriate loud and forceful entrance which certainly made the audience sit up.  Definitely asserted his dominance! Leo as Gaston did vanity and self-importance rather well. Ada as Lefou, really was assertive as Gaston’s wingman. There was a wonderful moment at the end of a scene when the other actors mistakenly left the stage, but Ada took up her correct position and subtly, but with a certain amount of annoyance jestered for them to get back on, double quick, thus rescuing the situation! Excellent understanding of stage craft! Calvin played Belle’s father Maurice, imprisoned in the dungeon and the other servants changed into inanimate objects were played by William (Lumière), Jake (Cogsworth), Octavia (Mrs Potts) and Maia (Chip). Well done also to Connie (Madam de la Grande Bouche/Narrator 3/Filles), Corin (Monsieur D’Arque), Eve (Babette/Enchantress), Oscar (Narrator 4/Bookseller), Ellery (Filles 2/Baker/Narrator 2) Elsie (Filles 3) and Sophie (Filles 4/Narrator 1).

So well done to Jacqui Coleman and Emily Wainwright-Meekins her cast and crew for a valiant effort in a constricted timeframe in unfamiliar surroundings with a group of youngsters fast learning their craft. I look forward to following their progress over the coming years. I suspect one or two stars may well come to the fore!

Finally, many thanks to the excellent FOH staff who looked after us royally!

 

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