Carousel

Most societies return from time to time to the classic Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. After all, these 1940s shows are the true origins of modern musical theatre. But you don’t choose Carousel unless you have the right Billy Bigelow, and Yeadon Theatre Company certainly had that in Rob Durkin. As well as looking spot-on as a charismatic fairground barker, Rob has the perfect voice for this role, with all the vocal stamina needed for the challenging soliloquy. He was paired with Kirsty Barnes as Julie. She sang sweetly, and was rather more feisty in her attitude than is usual in a Julie. What’s the use of Wond’rin’? was beautiful, but I wasn’t always convinced of the chemistry between these two being enough to drive their motivation. Ellie Klouda was appealingly ditsy as Carrie Pipperidge and entertained and amused the audience throughout. Michael Tattersall was suitably geeky as Mr Snow and had a great voice for this role, hitting the high tenor notes with ease.

A Rogers and Hammerstein show needs to be fronted by a fabulous orchestra, and Yeadon had invested in sixteen musicians to give us the wall of sound necessary. Led by MD Adam Boniface, they allowed us to revel in the beautiful tunes and exquisite harmonies.  It felt like a really lavish production. Professional sound ensured that the speaking and singing voices were always heard. A traditional show also gives opportunities for a large ensemble cast, and this one was enormous, so that sometimes the stage felt overcrowded. But I’m sure your members relished the opportunity for so many of them to have so much involvement in a show. The newer musicals rarely offer this chance.

This will be Anita Adams’ final show with Yeadon. She will be missed as she is a very creative director and choreographer, with loads of innovative ideas. This interpretation felt fresh and different with costumes relying on denim which made us unsure of its actual setting in time. Some of the creative ideas worked better for me than others, but I did like the introduction of the imagined son and daughter into the soliloquy, and Rob handled this very well, so that it enhanced the number. There was some excellent choreography. Blow High, Blow Low was full of excellent movement from some great dancers, but like lots of the dance numbers, it felt very long.

The opening prologue of Carousel is a difficult one to handle and often becomes a pre-show scene or an overture. The circus scene was a great idea from Adams, but especially the stilt walker in the audience who diverted audience attention in different ways to make this number move along before we got into the storyline proper. There were magic tricks on stage and a massive range of characters all vying for our attention and a higher level of staging where even more action was taking place.

The rest of the principal cast supported well. Jigger Craigin (Dan Hunt) was yet another alternative version of this usually quite sinister character. Marie Isbister as Nettie Fowler brought warmth and affection to her role. An army of young people were interpolated into a range of the numbers before they became the Snow Children in the ballet. All in all, there were opportunities for everyone in this mammoth production. Even the programme tells us that five different family groups were appearing on stage together. And incidentally, the programme by Lucy Boniface and Rachel Eddison was eye catching and full of interesting information.

Congratulations to Yeadon Theatre Company for a splendid show which showcased so many of their burgeoning membership. It is such a joy to see societies thrive in these difficult times. There was a near full house at the large Town Hall for the matinee and a stage packed to the brim with great performers and stars of the future.

Thank you for inviting me.

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