Bonnie & Clyde

Following on from their concert, ‘A Taste of the West End’, earlier this year, Together for Theatre Productions were back on stage with their musical offering. This year, they presented ‘Bonnie & Clyde’, which was directed by society chairman Ben Evans-Clarke. The set looked very good, and brought the audience to the Great Depression. Made up of wooden slats, there were two doorways left and right, with a hidden door centre, which concealed the car. Wooden blocks were used to create different locations. The simplicity of these worked well. Other furniture was brought on to help enhance the scenes. The ensemble was responsible for many of the scene changes, which they completed efficiently, ensuring that the pace of the production was of a good standard. The direction from Ben was good. He found the comedy in characters and scenes, which juxtaposed nicely against the darker moments of the story. The relationships between the different characters were secure and believable. You believed the initial lust between Bonnie and Clyde, the unwavering love of Cumie Barrow, and the affection from Ted towards Bonnie. On the whole, costumes were good and suited the period. They suited each character well.

Alex Williams was the musical director for ‘Bonnie & Clyde’. The band sounded amazing under Alex’s direction. They were polished and sympathetic to the performers and production, playing different genres of music throughout. The way the band joined in seamlessly with ‘Bonnie’ was well done. The vocals from the cast were also very good throughout.

Becky Brady was the choreographer for this production. Although not a dance heavy show, there were some great routines choreographed by Becky. ‘God’s Arms Are Always Open’ stands out as a strong routine. The sense of fun juxtaposed with Clyde’s criminal journey worked well.

Technical elements were generally good throughout. Projections were used throughout, but these were hard to see due to them being projected on the wooden slats of the set. On the whole, the sound design was good. Sound effects used were suitable and well cued. The sound balance between the band and the performers was good throughout. There were a few microphone issues, with some being turned on late. The lighting design was a strong feature of the production. The strobe effects for the shooting were well considered. The colours used in different moments helped to convey the emotion of the scene. Great job!

Kat Rawling took on the role of Bonnie Parker. This was a strong performance from Kat as we followed her life from a young dreamer to a waitress to an outlaw on the run. Kat delivered a stunning vocal, with the highlight coming from her duet with Abbie, ‘You Love Who You Love’. This was delivered with such heartfelt emotion from both. Kat created a totally believable relationship with Kieran.

Kieran Picken played the other half of the infamous outlaws, Clyde Barrow. This was another strong performance from Kieran, who portrayed a range of emotions throughout the production. He was tender and affectionate with Bonnie, as well as showing his desperation and anger whilst in jail. Kieran’s vocals were very good throughout, especially in ‘Raise a Little Hell’.

Cory Evans portrayed Clyde’s brother, Buck Barrow. This was a good characterisation from Cory, and he worked well with Abbie, Kieran and Kat, creating believable relationships with them all. Cory demonstrated a good sense of comedy, which worked well with the character.

Abbie Lloyd delivered the performance of the night as Blanche Barrow. She fully embodied the character, giving a well-rounded performance. There was light and shade in her performance throughout, with excellent comic timing and facial expressions, as well as hitting the audience with the emotion of a woman caught up in the wrong doing.

Daniel Cartwright gave a good performance as Ted Hinton. The audience really felt the unrequited love that Ted had for Bonnie due to Daniel’s performance. He showed his frustrations with the other officers convincingly, and displayed some good vocals.

Jayden Evans and Becky Brady played the younger versions of Clyde and Bonnie respectively. Both brought a youthful energy to the production, and were able to give the audience backstory to the lives of Bonnie and Clyde. They gave extremely competent performances.

Cumie and Henry Barrow were played by Dawn Lloyd and Oliver Bancroft. Dawn was convincing in this role showing an unwavering mother’s love for her children. Oliver was a bit too relaxed in the role. He could have been a bigger presence on stage.

Janine Royle gave a caring Emma Parker, showing her concern for her daughter throughout. You believed her motherly instinct towards Bonnie.

Steve Sheppard displayed fantastic vocals as the Preacher, leading the ensemble in the toe-tapping ‘God’s Arms Are Always Open’. Steve has fantastic stage presence. Your eye was drawn to him whenever he was on stage. It was a shame that there wasn’t much for him to do in the production.

In contrast to some of the more comedic roles Joe Moore is known for, he played Sherriff Schmid here. There was a good sense of authority, but there were moments where Joe did pull focus away from the action.

James Bebbington provided good support as Deputy Bud Russell, as well as other smaller roles. There could have been more differentiation to clearly define each character that James was portraying.

Jake Broadhurst had good authority as Frank Hamer. He commanded the stage, using his voice and presence to display this authoritative figure.

Jaymee Groves played two contrasting characters, Trish and Deputy Johnson. As Trish, she provided some comic relief in Blanche’s salon and when visiting her husband in prison.

Soph Congleton also played two contrasting characters, Eleanore and Governor Miriam Ferguson. She was definitely a striking presence as Governor Miriam Ferguson.

The ensemble was well drilled with the music and choreography of the production. They also helped with the scene changes, which happened efficiently. They helped to convey the emotions of the production, and were always in character.

Overall, this was a good production. There was inventive staging, strong principal performances, and the band sounded great.

Thank you to everyone at Together for Theatre Productions for their kind invite. All the best for your next production.

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