Blitz!

I was warmly welcomed to The Rose Theatre on a balmy late June evening to see KODS Youth Section perform Blitz! by Lionel Bart in order to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. 

This was the first time I had seen this production and was greeted upon walking into the theatre by a well- set open stage symbolizing a London wartime bunker.

The show was off to an energetic start with key characters Mrs Blitztein and Alfred Locke played by Charley Smith and Billy Brooks.  Firstly, Charley shone throughout the show with confident acting and dazzling vocals, supported by Billy as the grumpy and cheeky Alfred. We are then introduced to their families played by Darcy Hill (Carol Blitztein), who played an excellent strong yet sweet portrayal of the character, Charlie Dancyger  as bold squaddie Harry Blitztein, Jamie Whitehouse as a super lovestruck Georgie Locke ably supported by Megan Mayall as Siddy Blitztein and Grace Betts as Frances Locke. In fact, the whole cast were bright and entertaining with loads of smiling happy faces (except for the sad bits of course!), which is exactly what Youth Theatre should be about, regardless of the excellence of the named performers above.  My pet hate is seeing performers move beautifully on stage but not letting their faces join in with the enjoyment – there was none of this J

Special mention is reserved for Harrison Bianco as the hapless hard of hearing Ernie Nearmiss who kept the whole audience chuckling with his characterisation and antics.

As far as the show itself goes, Lionel Bart has clearly used the success of Oliver! as his template (as many writers do after a successful hit), with the music and even story at some points being reflective of this.

The technical parts of the show were excellent, with Russell Painter’s band sounding great and Emily Hamer’s choreography being perfect for this young cast and in keeping with the show period. Apparently, this is Scott Denton’s Directorial Debut but it is clear that Scott has used his many years of experience of being on the stage to project his enthusiasm onto the young people that looked as though they were loving every minute.  Similarly, the sound and lighting by Derek Taylor were super.

Thank you for a wonderful evening KODYS – I’m looking forward to your next production already.

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