Godspell

  The initial impact on entering Trinity Theatre was quite electrifying. Front of house, programmes sellers, even Alex Quilter - director, M.D and set builder - all were in the psychedelic costumes of the Flower Power Era. And that set! (Tracey Emin eat your heart out). Even Steptoe and Son would have approved. There was a mish mash of cooking utensils, wheel hubs, planks, wire mesh fencing - the use of which became clear towards the end - and bits and bobs of every description casually littering the stage, but all strategically placed to allow room for the energetic movements of the 11 strong cast. So, without the show having started, without even having read the programme, you knew you were to be treated to an unusual evening`s entertainment. We were not disappointed. From the moment Paul Arnold, representing Jesus and already seated on stage, addressed the audience, there was no pause in this up-dated version of the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. All the parables were there, many of them reinforced by joyful songs imitating the sounds of the `70s, with the colourfully dressed cast clapping, singing and moving in rhythm with the music   David Stradling represented Judas. He came across as a most likeable character, which, on reflection, isn`t too surprising. He, and Paul in particular, had almost all the dialogue and both proved to be in complete control of their respective roles which they delivered faultlessly. Dave Tickner was the only other man in the group, all the remaining, very personable young ladies, becoming either male or female, depending on the requirements of the story. One lady had a glove puppet which she used to great advantage, another was quite obviously a trained dancer, another was an excitable teenager, yet another a curvaceous, saucily dressed bimbo (for want of a more suitable descriptive noun) who had one of the few solo songs. In fact, all the cast had quite distinctive personalities and eye-catching costumes in bright colours which added to the happy mood of the show, despite its darker undertones.   So, congratulations to Alex Quilter, co-director Daphne Brown and the cast, whose excellent diction when singing, allowed us to follow with ease the Gospel story and which even a non-believer could enjoy as a piece of theatre in its own right. Now that is something John Michael Tebelak the original author deserves to be complimented on and which now must be extended to embrace CAODS, for staging it so well in the spirit which JMT intended.

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