Bugsy Malone

Thank you 'Hey Kids' for your wonderful hospitality and warm welcome on a chilly Wednesday evening. It was lovely to see and hear a live orchestra in the pit being very ably guided by Musical Director Alasdair Gordon. It is so refreshing to see an MD so thoroughly immersed and enjoying his work. I got the distinct impression that he felt every single note sung on the stage and, from his place in front of the actors, very carefully provided them with a perfect safety net and guided them home on each and every song, he is to be highly commended.

Unfortunately, I do have issues with the sound on the evening that I attended. It was a great shame but the youth cast dealt with all the glitches in a very professional manner even when one cast member (James McMahon) had no working mic for his solo - he kept going and projecting as best he could. I personally loved the set design it was a great use of a very wide stage, splitting it into three main levels plus extra sidings added lots of dimension and allowed some very seamless scene changes. Job well done to the stage construction and crew - I did however chuckle when a wall wobbled , however, this is theatre and it only reinforced for me exactly what an amazing set they had built from a blank space.

The costumes throughout were lovely, Fat Sam’s Girls were very eye catching in their sequins, the use of feather fans ( never easy) was very well executed so well done Rebecca Flemming on her choreography and drilling. There was a wide range of dance ability throughout the cast, this was incorporated well in the ensemble numbers. If I had a small minor criticism it would be that the first time we met Fat Sam’s Girls they were obviously concentrating and forgot to smile - they all had beaming smiles later in the production though which was lovely to see.

The lighting for me was a bit off but I do believe that there was a major issue right before curtain up so I will say no more. Joanne Marshall as Producer and Director excelled herself, the scenes moved along at a quick pace with no dragging and as I have already mentioned - the set design was fantastic. I loved the minimal props , I always find it detracts from the performance if an actor is too concerned about their prop to deliver their lines.

Oliver Barlow played Bugsy Malone, he gave us a good well rounded solid character. He held his own with the orchestra during his song and seemed to thoroughly enjoy singing it. Holly-May Hughes gave us a lovely characterisation although at times I personally felt we could have seen a softer side to Blousey Brown. Jack Hobson as Fat Sam and Lucy Grogan as Tallulah we’re a perfectly matched couple, they both delivered well, had strong diction and kept the story moving. Max Benson as Leroy was enjoyable to watch. Daisy Parton who played O’Dreary was a joy to watch, her comedic timing was spot on. Her scenes with Callum Grogan as Captain Smolsky we’re in very safe hands. Freya Allison as Fizzy gave us some tremendous vocals and was a pleasure to watch. Isaac Corbett (Corbit) Wood was a great acting duo with Tilly Smith A’s Dandy Dan and Louella. He controlled his character well and played a convincing gangster.

My final mention must be of the whole ensemble, the team, the family, it was a joy and a pleasure to watch you all . Well Done, everyone! See you all again very soon.

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