Broadway Bard

The chance to see a truly inspirational piece of theatre at a Castle Bandstand, on a beautiful Lancashire evening was genuinely a memorable event. Clitheroe Parish Church AODS teamed up with Stage Two Downham to present the UK premiere of 'Broadway Bard - Shakespeare Does Show Tunes At Stratford-upon-42nd Street'. This show pieces together the works of Shakespeare, along with no less than twenty of the most memorable show tunes. These had been worked with and entangled together cleverly, to enhance each scene with both the original works of drama and the later theatre movement of musical numbers.

This said aiming to combine some of the most well known theatre segments through drama, music, song and dance would not be for the faint hearted. The two companies joined together and with their wealth of theatre knowledge put on a great show. There were three different William Shakespeare's, being the tragedy, comedy and history facades as our compares. These guided us through each segment with good acting and humour. Managing to bring camp numbers such as 'I am, What I am' from the musical ‘LaCage’ and merging it seamlessly with such a scene from ‘Twelfth Night’. This has been done extremely cleverly in order to preserve the integrity of Shakespeare, but also to add some 'Razzle Dazzle' to his great work. 

With the show being taken 'on tour' to the Clitheroe Castle Bandstand, for just one night the lack of scenery was apparent. However the company managed to get by with a limited set, on what was a very small stage. This didn't hamper the performances, as the works are so readily known. These scenes could have been produced with no set at all. The lighting was maybe a little too complex at times, obviously with the outside light affecting the way they should have appeared on stage. Maybe the use of more white light, would have been a little more apt for the venue. The sound however was of a good quality, being able to hear every line so crisply. Accompanied by the complete sound of the live five piece band.

It was a pleasure to see so many cast members on stage and each and everyone of them managing to showcase their best talents. It was nice to see the companies have much more scope, with regards to casting this concert as apposed to the obvious constraints of a musical or play. We would like to finish by thanking both companies for their kind invitation, to what was a most enjoyable evening and look forward to 'Move Over Mrs. Markham' in October.

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