Half A Sixpence

The company chose to put on the 2007/08 touring version of this perennial favourite, which has all the storylines and characters of the original Tommy Steele version, but with additional scenes and some new musical numbers with music by David Heneker and lyrics by Warner Brown. This allowed this group of teenagers to show case their prodigious talents to the full.  Samuel Anderson was outstanding as Kipps - singing, acting and dancing with great confidence whilst maintaining a near perfect cockney accent. His rendition of “What Should I Feel?” was full of emotion and his rendition of “Half A Sixpence” with Ann was a delight. Ann was played by the petite Beth Nicholson who had great stage presence and a wonderful strong voice shown to its best in her solo “I Know What I Am”.  Kaleb Connell was a superbly over-the – top Chitterlow eliciting gales of laughter at his every appearance. Jennifer McClung was the picture of elegance with a cut crystal accent which never wavered and a delightful singing voice. Kipps’ fellow shop workers – Sid (Murray Hossick), Buggins (Andrew Robertson), Pearce (Ben Campbell), Flo (Gracie Spencer), Kate (Ellie Yeats) and Victoria (Lisa McCallum) – worked well together and gave us some wonderful harmonies in numbers such as “A Normal Working Day”, “I Don’t Believe A Word Of It” and a “Proper Gentleman”. Strong support was given by Lewis Poole (Mr Shalford), Eilidh Bisset (Mrs Walsingham) and Christopher Dewsbury (Young Walsingham). The chorus singing and dancing were of a very high standard and I particularly enjoyed their rumbustious “Flash, Bang Wallop!”. The set designed by Susan Ball, in cool shades of blue, was simple but elegant and truly gave the impression of a 1900s south coast seaside town. Costuming was colourful and appropriate to the characters and period. Well done AYMT for another excellent show.

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