CADBURY ANGELS

Such a charming piece, based on the true story of the writer’s mother, which centre around letters written by the Cadbury Angels, sent in emergency ration tins to our soldiers fighting in the war, and the replies they received.  A lovely premise, which resulted in an intimate look at the lives of the women in those hard times.  The more informal and friendly atmosphere of the theatre suited the production.  It was nice to see some new faces in the cast.

The set was minimal, which was easily moveable and suited the feel of the piece, nicely lit, with some good effects, and sound was good throughout.

Costumes suited the era, although I felt the work headgear for the ladies was a little clumsy, but assume it was copied from whatever photos etc there were available, but everything else fitted in well, with good hairdo’s where needed. 

Musically very strong, and the tunes echoed the times well, with some emotional moments.  The cast all sang well, and there were some good harmonies.  The accompaniments were particularly interesting, which made the music seem fresh.

Jo Yirrell (as Margaret’s daughter) created a lovely down to earth lady, mourning the death of her parents, and coming across their letters with some memorabilia from the times, the significance of which was addressed during the production.  A nice link.

Gemma Bayliss (Miss Oakley) was very much in charge of the work room and ‘Angels’, whilst showing her softer side with Babs – a good portrayal, nicely sung.

Maddison Price (Margaret Cox) showed the caring young lady, and I liked her appearing as if in her daughter’s thoughts, a good ruse.  Maddison needed to project a little more, as sometimes her words were lost, more confidence was needed, but she showed a very nice singing voice.

Angel Bayliss (Marj) gave us a very well-studied performance of the young girl with so much enthusiasm for life, not having yet really experienced the horrors of war.  Angel performed her number extremely well.

Martha Morrison (Dot) performed a very lively clog dance during her song, which added well to the diversity of the characters.

Louise Crompton (Barbara Newman) created a really feisty character, a ‘rich’ vocabulary delivered well, and a lovely singing voice.

I enjoyed the relationship between Jo Wells (Rita) and Steve Corcoran (Tom) and later with Iain Morrison (Jack), both men new to St Andrew’s but I enjoyed their performances over the several roles they undertook, and Jo sang and danced very well.

Karen Franks (Nancy) made an interesting addition to the ‘Angels’ with her perspicacity, which I liked, it made the character real.

Michelle Garufi was particularly striking in her Soldier uniform, very smart , and she was very expressive as one of the ‘Angels’.

Stacey Peck (Ken and Mr Lennox) completed the cast with very full-on interpretations of both men, contrasting nicely with the more homely and softer portrayals of Steve and Iain.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening, it was a gentle but telling tale of what were dark times, with a story woven around letters and chocolate!  Good performances throughout and nice to see so many amdram colleagues in the audience.  My thanks to St Andrew’s for their much appreciated and continued hospitality.

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