Bugsy Malone

As always a very warm welcome is afforded to me by Pat, Janet and the front of house team. I took my seat and looked forward to Footlights Youth Theatre's production of Bugsy Malone. The lights dimmed and the overture started. The band were a ten piece immediately in front of the stage, and set off at a good pace, very well led by Edward March and the rest of the team. When the curtain opened we were greeted by a simple set depicting the inside of a 1920's speakeasy, giving the cast (forty eight strong) plenty of room to fill and perform in. This they did well. The set was well lit by Phil Edge and his Livewire team and this enhanced the show well.

The cast really looked as if they were enjoying themselves, and appeared confident and well rehearsed, especially given the age range of eight to eighteen, and this came over well into the auditorium and the enthusiastic audience (mostly mums, dads, sisters, cousins and aunts) were having a great time. 

The choreography by Lyndsay Smith was simple and effective, in some places challenging for the older ones but they seemed to cope well, the chorus numbers looked effective and good to watch. The cast were well led by Charlie Smith as Bugsy, Chloe Osman as Blousey, Luca Jordan as Fat Sam and Ruby Whealdon as Tallulah, all interacted well with the cast and themselves, with good diction and a good pace. They were well backed up by Lara Huggins as Dandy Dan, and Hugo Rokison as Fizzy who delivered "Tomorrow" with real confidence. 

The costume department of Sue Tatnall, Heather Cousins & Geanie Matthews had their work cut out with such a large cast, but the overall visual effect and the obvious hard work was very evident and well worth it. They really added to the overall show.

Bugsy is a youth theatre favourite and, above all, the enthusiasm and pleasure that the cast showed and brought was evident throughout. Well done Footlights and thank you for a good evening. 

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