CRE8tions Volume 1

Founder and Director Dan Moore set up CRE8 in May 2022.  In that time the Company has grown and expanded and are now well established within Suffolk delivering workshops, dance classes, all with a focus on making amateur theatre accessible to everyone from young performers to adults alike.  This production  was a Musical Theatre Showcase bringing performers of all ages and abilities together to broaden their knowledge of musical theatre. Dan aimed to challenge the older performers by exposing them to a variety of different musical theatre genres, whilst also fostering  close collaboration with younger performers. This approach helped them gain confidence and motivation, supporting the development of skills and talents.  

The theatre was filled with enthusiastic friends and family for a single performance, however the impressive talent shown on stage would certainly have entertained any theatre audience.  The production featured seven musicals from across the years, each with three songs and excerpts to give the flavor and style of the show. The cast included 30 members, evenly divided between adults and children, with several adults also serving as vocal and dance captains. Each show had between 10 to 15 cast members, ensuring involvement from the entire company across multiple performances.

The singing and dancing was of a high standard throughout and obviously there were far too many to mention individually, but I must mention just a few stand out performances. These included  Alexia-Rose who brought lively energy as Matilda performing her song ‘Naughty’.   Holly Wright as Miss Sarah in ‘Guys and Dolls’, who with her delightful soprano voice, gave a beautiful rendition of ‘I’ve Neven Been in Love Before’. Also featured from that show Cián Harriss was impressive as Nicely Nicely Johnson with ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking The Boat’. In ‘The Great Gatsby’ Rebecca Rees gave an emotional rendition as ‘Daisy’ in her song ‘For Better or Worse’. Also from the same show a very skillful performance from Sam Finan as Nick in ‘Roarin’ On’. The full chorus impressed with powerful, confident songs and harmonies in support of the soloists.  

 The innovative choreography was excellent with a wide range of different dance styles. The dancers infused every routine with vibrancy and enthusiasm, including a lively kick-line. There were no backdrops, but the lighting, by James Aleskic, effectively set the mood for each scene. Many numbers concluded with striking tableaus, enhanced by a variety of impressive lighting effects ending with smokey silhouettes which held as a  stunning  and lasting  memory.  This  was also featured as an impressive  front cover design for their programme and publicity.  The majority of numbers were just costumed in ‘blacks’ with the occasional change for some of the soloists but as not to infringe in copyright and in no way relating to the original shows. 

A fabulous show from a talented cast and crew who can all be very proud of their contributions. Well done to Dan, Edith and the team. This was CRE8tion Volume 1 and we look forward to Volume 2 next year.

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