Honk!

I arrived quite early as I had misunderstood the curtain up time.  However, I was made very welcome and was able to take the time to sit in the foyer and ‘people watch’.

I have only seen this show performed by adults once before, I normally see the junior version performed by young people.  So, it was an interesting and different experience.  The cast were strong, and the children were exceptional, everyone was engaged in the performance and worked really hard to put on a good show.

Haydn Mullane played the title role of the ugly duckling, unfortunately his singing was a little bit tentative and, coupled with the over loud band, I struggled to hear his vocals clearly.  This was such a shame as he was very enthusiastic in his characterisation. 

I will mention more about the band now as they were very good but much too loud.  I was also distracted, in the first half, by the bright light needed for the conductor.  Fortunately, someone thought to drape something in front of it, so it no longer interfered with the audience’s enjoyment in the second half.   I know that the majority of the dialogue, in this show, is underscored and the volume from the band really did make it difficult to hear some of the performer’s dialogue. This is something that will only become apparent once the band is in situ, but it does need to be addressed.

The other main characters, Kat Foxworthy (Ida) and Wesley Strahan Hughes (Drake) were both excellent, strong singers and great characterisations from both.  Colin Wilson was a joy to watch as the Cat, great style, great character and, although he is essentially the villain, a very likeable one. 

I must also mention Melanie Plowman-Cobb (Queenie) and Sarah Cunningham (Lowbutt).   Their scene in the human’s house together with Colin Wilson was an absolute delight to watch, 3 very experienced performers who got the very best out of the scene.  I also enjoyed the performance from Mike Roberts as the bullfrog.

There are a lot of other characters, unfortunately too many to mention individually, but every one of them was excellent onstage and played their parts well.  The ensemble, so often overlooked, were enthusiastic and performed well throughout the production.

I have already mentioned the children, but they do deserve more!  They were very well behaved on stage, only a couple looking out for parents in the audience, but we expect that!  Clearly the future of theatre is in good hands.  The four playing the ducklings; Chloe Strong, Chloe Richardson, Erin Dormer and Lauren Joslin, were a great team and each had their own character, well done.

The underwater scene was very enjoyable, and I particularly liked the depiction of the fishes.  In fact, all the full company pieces were very well performed, the choreography was well drilled, and the Frogs chorus was absolutely terrific.

The set was simple but very effective, I loved the paintings of the bullrushes. Unfortunately, the mics were often late being turned up, so we missed the first line of some of the dialogue, I appreciate that this was only the second performance but they are such an important part of a production these days that it is worth giving the techies more time to get to know the script.  The costumes were simple but effective and the lighting was suitable.

Overall, a very enjoyable evening, my thanks for your hospitality and I left feeling uplifted by the show.

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