Kipps "The new Half a Sixpence musical"

Kipps is a new take on the great musical Half a Sixpence.

The choreographer for me was a highlight of the show I really enjoyed the bigger numbers, the cast was utilised well and split up, so that they got involved but not necessarily in the same numbers, on a smaller stage this is a great idea.   

The band led by David Woods were very good, I do however feel that the balance between performers and band were not always balanced, on the night I watched there were times especially in solos, I struggled to hear the performers.

Kipps by the very nature of the show depends very much on the on the person playing the leading man Arthur Kipps.  Colin Wilson took on this role and he was fantastic; he was strong and incredibly talented.  He acted the part with skill, and he was note perfect, well done!

Ann Pornick is one of Arthur’s love interests, she has a beautiful voice and the pairing of Charlotte Bennan as Ann and Colin was well cast, I would have liked to have seen more disappointment in her when she saw Arthur at the party for the first time with Helen, but you could clearly see they should have ended up together by the end of the show.

Mike Roberts played the part of Mr Shalford and he definitely gave off the air of authority and control.

The quartet of Sid (Max Campbell), Pierce (Janine Reynolds), Buggins (Haydn Mullane) and Flo Evans (Claire Bailes), worked well as a quartet along with Kipps.  Also, special mention to Claire I enjoyed her duet with Charlotte in Act one.

Melanie Plowman-Cobb played Arthur’s second love interest Helen Walsingham, she played the part well showing how conflicted she is between Arthur and loyalty to her family.  Both Charlotte and Melanie showed the class divide well between the two roles.  Helen’s mother Mrs Walsingham was played by Barbara Thomas, she had a commanding presence on stage and a powerful voice.  James Walsingham was played by Phil Calver he had an air of confidence, but you also knew as an audience he was not to be trusted.

Chitterlow, is a great part it requires someone with a good acting ability and good diction which Bob Sulzbach had.  His characterisation was very good, I felt he could have been a little bigger, maybe a little more over top, having said that all the mannerisms were good.

All the other parts were well played by the rest of the cast and I must make a special mention to John Walden, who I thought did a great job as the photographer, a small part but one that has a big impact in the most famous number.

The set I felt was well thought out giving the cast maximum space on stage, the minimal set was a great idea, and I am a big fan of stage crew being costumed, with this in mind if the stage crew are costumed and the cast are helping bring the set on, are black outs necessary between scenes?  An audience is very use to seeing a set change and the pace would not have dropped at certain parts.  The use of the crew to carry on the seaside cut outs was a great idea.  The video at the start of the show was such a great idea, it was a shame that the video did not sync with the vocals on the night I went, however this does not take away from the fact it was a great idea!  The use of projections again meant that the cast were able to have maximum stage space.

This was a good production and I look forward to returning soon.

Scott Welch

Reps district 9

NODA East

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