Bugsy Malone

Dear Riverside Juniors,

Thank you so much for inviting me to come and see your production of Bugsy Malone at the weekend, I had a lovely time. Bugsy is a show that I know well, so I was looking forward to seeing how you guys would perform it after all those weeks of rehearsals.

Your set was very minimalistic but I did like the big Bugsy Malone sign, all lit up, with the four-piece band underneath. It was nice to see the band on the stage and to be able to watch them playing for you. Well done to your musical director, Emily Wainwright, and the other band members.

So, what did I enjoy about your production? Well, first of all, I thought your splurge guns and custard pies were fab - you certainly had a good time with those! When Dandy Dan’s gang first arrived on stage with all those guns they looked very menacing indeed, although perhaps all of the people who got ‘splurged’ throughout the show could have fallen down more dramatically before they went off stage. However, the scene right at the end of the show was brilliant and I’m sure you all enjoyed throwing those custard pies around!

Your costumes looked good and the ensemble all looked the part in their black and white suits too. Bugsy did a good job, just slow down a bit and it will be much better for the audience to be able to hear you properly - but well done on a good job. Fat Sam, you were great, an accomplished performer with some lovely acting and super facial expressions - congratulations! Fizzy had a lovely solo with ‘Tomorrow’ and your American accent was excellent whilst singing. Your dance routine for this number was lovely and you played the character well throughout. Blousey was just right for this part, you sang nicely and acted out your character well, especially when you were telling Bugsy to ‘zip the lip’! Your song ‘Ordinary Fool’ was beautifully acted out as you sang, well done. Tallulah, you looked lovely in your costume - as did your dancers - and you sang your song nicely with great timing for your choreography here, a great job, well done.

The ensemble all worked hard and, with forty in the cast, you worked well as a team together. I particularly liked Dandy Dan - and also the waitress serving Bugsy and Blousey - some great acting here in a small role. Little Leroy and Joe were fab and I enjoyed ‘So You Wanna Be A Boxer’. The punching was brilliant, some great stage combat technique, well done! 

Now, what can you all work on for next time? Well, make sure, if you are in the ensemble, that you always keep your head up and try not to look down at the floor. I know that your director, Rowan Marshall, will have told you to act and sing right up to the back of the audience so that everyone can see what you are doing. For some of you, it was your first time on the stage (very brave) so the next time, try to show how confident you are, even if you’re not feeling it! That’s what is so clever about acting, you can pretend you are feeling confident, even if you are a bit nervous. If you have some lines to say, try not to rush - that way, you can really act out the words and put some emotions into them. Try not to face upstage when you have lines,  even if the person you are talking to is a little bit behind you - otherwise the audience can’t see your face, and may not hear what you are saying either. 

There were one or two technical issues, with mics being down when a character came on stage, but with forty in the cast, I can imagine how tricky that must be. The centre aisle was used regularly, although it was often hard to see who was there. This was particularly apparent during the audition scene where I could neither see, nor hear, the actor in the aisle. However, the performers on stage for this scene were great and ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ was brilliant, some great character acting here - well done. 

My favourite scenes were definitely the big dance numbers, with choreography by Ellen Tipping, where you all brought the stage to life and picked up the pace. These were great to watch and I could tell you were enjoying yourselves - now try to keep that energy going afterwards, when there are not as many characters on the stage. Sing out, speak out and look out to the audience next time and you will have a great show that everyone will love! 

Thank you again for inviting me, well done on all your hard work - and I look forward to coming to see you again in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat soon.

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