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Disco Inferno

Author: Tessa Davies

Information

Date
23rd October 2019
Society
Brentwood Musical Theatre Society
Venue
Brentwood Theatre
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Claire Carr
Musical Director
Jamie Bell
Choreographer
Claire Carr

I had seen the show once before, but it is not performed very often, which is a shame because this was a very entertaining show.  Of course, because it is not well known, the ticket sales might prove difficult in a larger theatre.  Done well, and this was, the show is a crowd pleaser and a blast for the cast to perform.

The show was vibrant, with a very energetic and talented cast.   Full marks to Director Claire Carr for getting everyone dancing and clearly enjoying themselves.  It is a weakish plot, loosely based on Dante’s Inferno but set in a 1970’s Disco.  A great opportunity for the cast to dig out those platform shoes and flares, or source them from ebay (which I suspect was the case!)  The show is packed with pop songs from the period, none of which were easy to sing properly and all of which were performed very well, congratulations to MD Jamie Bell, for bringing the cast up to such a high standard.  I did feel I wanted to join in, but I refrained, at least until YMCA!

David Gillet played the lead role of Jack, who makes a pact with the Devil’s handmaiden, Lady Marmalade, to give up his soul in exchange for fame and fortune in the pop music business.  David is an experienced performer who portrayed the character well.  He was barely off stage and his performance is to be commended.   His long suffering girlfriend Jane, beautifully played by Hannah Brent, keeps with him until his behaviour gets just too much to deal with.  Her characterisation was excellent and her rendition of I Will Survive was terrific.

Juliet Thomas played Lady Marmalade with great style, she looked terrific and her characterisation worked perfectly.  Jamie Fudge played Jack’s best friend Tom, this was a terrific performance, funny, quirky, heart-warming and thoroughly entertaining.  Ben Martins played Heathcliffe, and it was nice to see Ben playing a major character in the show.  This is not an easy part to play and Ben got both the pathos and mean-ness of the character across.  There were a lot if good strong performers in this show, Emily Walker (Kathy) Jennifer Bell (Maggie) Allister Smith (Terry) Martin Harris (Duke) and Jon Keeler, really coming into his own as drag queen Lily.  I must credit Ian Southgate for taking on the role of Nick Diablo with just a few hours’ notice and one 30 minute rehearsal.  Of course, he had to use a script but, honestly, his performance was excellent and apart from having the script to read, we would not have known that he had not been rehearsing with the rest of the cast.   Credit also to the cast for performing Pop Music so well!

The dancers were excellent, and Claire’s choreography was challenging, well done to them and to the rest of the Ensemble for a great supporting chorus.

The set was, of necessity, simple but it worked well, and the cast made the changes quickly and effectively.   Costumes were fabulous, I haven’t seen so many flares and platforms since I wore them myself!  Lighting was spot on and the sound was, generally, good too.

A real ‘feel good’ night out, which all the audience seemed to enjoy.  As always, my thanks for the hospitality. 

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