Bugsy Malone

This show of rival gangs of New York during Prohibition provides lots of parts for a youth company to get their teeth into and these youngsters certainly did that: gangsters, show girls, boxers, budding actors, media, detective, laundry girls, down and outs etc. The lead role Bugsy Malone gave Jessica Connell scope to develop a smart, unflappable survivor of fights and life. He was well matched by Blousey, his love interest, played by Rebecca Hardie as a feisty survivor in her own right. Of the gang leaders, Louise Brown played a strong, nicely bulked up Fat Sam who though ruthless lost out to a rival gangster even more determined namely Dandy Dan played as suave and cool by David Forsyth. Samantha Niven played Fat Slim’s girl Tallula glamorously while his gang were well suited yes - men with the likes of a finger cracking Knuckles, sweet Baby Face and shifty Snake Eyes. Aaron Ross as Fizzy the nightclub sweeper with ambition gave his best in ‘Tomorrow’. Dandy Dan’s gang were just as effective and loved the action with the splurge guns. Bethany Faulds came across well as his doll Louella.  Memorable moments were: the razamatazz of the nightclub and the fun with the splurge guns; the audition scene with an interesting Ventriloquist and Dummy and a hearty performance by Lucy Freck as Lucy; the boxing ring; the Down and Out number; and the lovely Dancers. This only gives a glimpse of all the talent on display.  The costumes, suits, flapper dresses, fur coats all suited the era. The musicians created a good sound resonant of the times. The set with all the constant changes of scene worked well in the main and has to be tightly orchestrated. Hopefully the technical problems of lighting and sound of the first night were ironed out in the succeeding performances. This show took lots of hard work and it is great to see how well the young folk of Project Theatre are developing. Well done.

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