Bombs And Blackberries / Musical Numbers

Bethel Crowd open the 2023 season with a double bill of Donaldson & Docherty’s Bombs & Blackberries followed by a Musical Number of various wartime favourites to echo the nostalgia created by the first half. Staged at the St James CofE High School the proscenium arch stage – a minimalist use of steel seating structures to create a mezzanine level all draped in back and blues - was supplemented by an apron thrust to accommodate a living room wartime scene as well as an extended space for some of the dance and song numbers.

Bombs’ gave us a touching wartime tale of the experiences of child evacuees to the rural North West with the majority of cast populated by Bethel’s youth section with the adults playing the host families and community, including a couple of friendly Italian PoW’s. I was made aware of some of the challenges to Bethel on entering a new venue but as in all drama – from solo street performers with no set, stage or costume up to an established professional cast in an ornate venue – the magic always lies with the performer(s). So I sat back with my guest to look for where the magic might be emanating from and of course the potential to imagine when viewing the embryonic talent of youth.

With such a large cast and no FoH cast gallery or programme headshots to guide me, I will mention – by name where possible - some performances which stood out. Amongst the youth, Mairead Coburn’s White Xmas solo as Elsie Chivers was delightful and had the bonus of being joined by her younger cast/real life siblings (throughout both halves Mairead set an excellent example of not only how to put across a song, but also the joy of dance and overall stage presence); there was a young girl (apologies – no information available) with red hair bunches whose ballet breaks could have been longer for the audience to enjoy more of, again shining in both sections and thirdly Peter Schofield’s ribald rendition of Marriott Edgar’s The Lion And Albert drew the laughter its comedy deserved.

Apart from those highlights, I made notes of various issues which may have been resolved on subsequent nights, i.e. technical flaws  but also on matters of stagecraft and discipline, some of which may improve with cast experience – however, I don’t want to go into detail as this would detract from the achievement of an admirable community effort of organising a multi-age cast – giving the ‘Crowd’s stalwarts some stage time and the youth some valuable experience.

Thankyou for making my guest & I feel welcome,

 

Matthew James.

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