Kiss Me Kate

This show has not been performed locally for many years and, of late, SODS have focussed on performing more modern musicals.  Kiss Me, Kate is a musical of the traditional genre and has a lovely mix of well recognised songs, strong dialogue and great opportunities for characterisation from the cast.

Louise Kempson, in the title role of Kate/Lilli Vanessi, was excellent.  Louise has a very powerful voice with a large range and she did the role justice.  Her facial expressions were extremely entertaining, showing us the character of Lilli Vanessi.  Although this was her first Principal role with SODS she has an impressive history of performing both professionally and in amateur productions.

Joshua Hopwood played Fred Graham/Petruccio well, this was his first major role with SODS and his background training in theatre was evident in his stage persona.  The occasions when there are performers, with professional training, in amateur performances, is on the increase and amateur theatre in Southend benefits from this enormously.

The younger Principals are both currently training in the Performing Arts and SODS are very lucky to have such a talented cast for this production.   Millie-Mae Cage (Lois Lane/Bianca) gave a performance that was of a very high standard.  She intends to move on to higher education in the Performing Arts and I am sure she will be very successful.  Robert Maynard played Bill Calhoun/Lucentio well, showing his capabilities as a performer.

The remaining main characters were all very good, Paul Alton and Les Cannon, made a good pairing as the two gangsters and their rendition of Brush Up Your Shakespeare was entertaining.  Both are seasoned actors with the ability to get the most out of any part that they play.  Heather Cooper is another experienced actress and her portrayal as Hattie was good; although the part did not give her much scope, she gave it her all.  Dick Davies was excellent as Baptista Minola .  Jonathan Buxton played General Harrison Howell and he produced exactly the right character for the part.  Ewan Dunlop played Paul and, with a solo in Too Darn Hot, he had the opportunity to show off his dance skills.

Which brings me nicely to the choreography in that number.  This is one of my favourite songs and it is the opportunity to show off some strong and effective dancing.  The tempo of the number seemed rather slow and consequently the choreography seemed slow too.  I know that this show had a very short rehearsal period and I assume that Director Michelle Taylor opted for simple choreography.  This was a bit of a shame as I am sure, with more rehearsal time she could have challenged her dancers more.  I also thought that the tap number could have had more complicated choreography, but, again, this would have taken more rehearsal time.   Overall, though, the show was very well directed and performed.

The dancers worked hard and one or two of them stood out as being energetic and strong performers, I am sure that they know who they are!    The pace of the show was a little slow and there did seem to be a lack of energy on the night.  That is a shame as it is a good, strong show, with plenty to be energetic about.   The remainder of the company worked hard at doing all the other parts that the script requires and the overall effect was of a team that were enjoying what they were doing.  That is always a good sign!

Scenery was good, as were the costumes.  As these were all hired in that is to be expected and, in the main, they did not disappoint.  Just one comment, the two soldiers were in very unmatched uniforms, not even realistic on one case as the actor seemed to be wearing a white shirt with khaki trousers.  When a company is paying out good money to hire costumes it is a shame when something like this lets it down.

However, judging by the comments from the audience as they left the theatre, they had an entertaining evening and, I suspect, many of them went home singing one of the shows songs!  I also really enjoyed the performance and I would express my thanks for the hospitality shown to us.

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