Company

COMPANY is a bold and thought provoking musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and based on the book by George Furth.    It tells the story of Robert (Bobby) as he faces his 35th birthday as a single man.  He is surrounded by his married friends.  Through song and dance he exmaines his prospects for the future and observes the ups and down of marriage.

There was no scenery or set.    The only item on the stage was the sofa which was used to stand on, jump off, lean on and swivelled round to appear as the wall of the rooftop terrace.    Props were minimal: the cake (which came out on various occasions) and birthday presents.

Costumes were excellent and complemented the lighting at times; when the focus was on the couple wearing green, there was green lighting.    Some costumes were adapted such as Amy’s white dress, transformed into her wedding dress.   Bobby was smart in a suit and there was good attention to detail in all cast members such as the sharp power suit for super smart Joanne, played to perfection by Ruth Platt.   And Hollie Parkes looked sweet in her floaty pink dress.    The vibrant colours worked extremely well with Bobby’s neutral coloured suit.  

The sound was very good with voices projected well and singing in tune with the music and one another.    As mentioned the Lighting was creative and was atmospheric when needed.   The American accents were good with the odd slip up and occasional difficulty (for me at least) in clarification of some of the lyrics, particularly those sung at speed such as when Briony Westwood as Amy was powering through ‘Getting Married Today’.    Her delivery was impressive!

This was a top class show from start to finish.   It was the first time I’d seen it, so it was a joy to not know which was the story was going to go. I had no idea what to expect. The choreography, by Katie Conquest, was fantastic with low key and big numbers being equally astonishing incorporating some truly creative and inventive routines and steps.   The cast carried the whole show with panache and their dedication to creating this level of performance was obvious from all, particularly Nick Brannam as Bobby who was on stage and centre of attention for the whole show.  Nick was simply stunning.   I was blown away by this show and although it was my first time of seeing it, I hope it won’t be the last!   Well done BAOS on another huge theatrical joy.

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