Encore!

At these times when many societies are in financial difficulty and looking at every possible avenue to raise funds it has become increasingly popular to see concerts and cabarets being presented by amateur companies within the region and indeed nationally. This concert by Cygnets was more of a showcase to expose the maximum dexterities of its individual members and that is what they did, some vocalists pushed their boundaries while others presented what was within their comfort zone (or so it seemed).

The offering was an eclectic mix within the musical theatre field with some of the expected / traditional choices from the likes of ‘Rodgers and Hammerstein’, ‘Boublil and Schönberg’, ‘Schwartz’, ‘Sondheim’ and ‘Lord Lloyd Webber’ mixed amongst some lesser known composers within the industry such as ‘Pasek and Paul’ (Edges – A Song Cycle), ‘Javerbaum and Schlesinger’ (Cry Baby) and ‘Kitt, Miranda and Green’ (Bring It On).

The format of the presentation remained relatively traditional offering block sections each based on a loose theme though I wasn’t sure we required the explanations and brief story of what songs were to come before each of the sections were performed. Doing so made the proceedings rather formal, unyielding and broke the flow which hindered the overall presentation rather than enhancing it.
The surroundings of the church setting created a charming ambiance with candles and floral displays which elegantly dressed the space and helped to enhance the mood on this cool summer evening.

Serenading us was a cast of twelve who in turn took centre stage with their party piece.
Stand out performances for me were Hannah Davenport’s comedic “Screw Loose” which was later balanced out with an amiable “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” sung in Spanish adding a welcome spin on this overexerted ballad.
I do often find the expected concert favourites quite tiresome, musical theatre has such an impressive catalogue of scores with so many beautiful numbers to choose from, however, it’s incredibly rare to attend such a show and not hear the ‘Miserables’ favourite; ‘On My Own’, though Caitlin Goman did deliver a superb performance of it, probably one of / if not the best I’ve witnessed. Alison Brander’s “Audition Song” was delivered with comedic vigour and later she got several opportunities to show us how far she can stretch those pipes, an impressive instrument!
Sam Gilliatt also indulged in showing us his vocal capabilities, another impressive (if slightly raw) voice with ‘Music Of The Night’ and ‘This Is The Moment’ sitting the most comfortably for his style, extraordinarily so for someone so young.    
Sara Hawley and Tina Spiers also impressed with their performances, it was a shame Sara only got to sing the one solo, maybe we’ll hear more from her in the future.

Black and burgundy were the colours of choice to create a uniform design with each cast member donning their finest black piece and accessorising it with a burgundy sash (or burgundy bow tie for the young lads). How some of the ladies opted to wear their sash was questionable looking more like a chair at a wedding than someone about to sing us a showtune. 

Holding the evening together was Mike Bramhall on the piano, a fine job indeed.

Overall this was a virtuous presentation of some favourite and new songs from the shows. The talent at Cygnets is certainly an exciting prospect and I look forward to what’s to come from this innovative and novel company!

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