Let Yourself Go

It was a delight to be invited back to re-join Pickering Musical Theatre once again at the beautiful Kirk
Theatre, for an entertaining night of beautiful singing and enthusiastic performances. This cast truly
consisted of some very talented people who obviously dearly enjoy being on the stage together. It was
lovely to see the young theatre group incorporated into the performance adding there stunning talent to
the mix with some recognisable individuals from previous shows.
The evening was an eclectic mix of nostalgic songs with lots of family favourites that had some of the
audience singing along, including a lovely audience participation section led by the young theatre part of
the group. Maureen Symonds planned a very well-structured show allowing many members of the cast
their time to shine. The live musical accompaniment was equally wonderful and really added to the
ambience of the whole evening. The staging was simple but well thought out allowing the cast to use a
great deal of the space on stage without the hindrance of staging getting in the way.
It was nice to see some regular faces to Kirk Theatre stage delivering some well loved and occasionally
comedic performances. Some of the best being Take it on the Chin, Sisters, When I’m cleaning windows
and The Trolley Song. I feel that the audience would agree with me when I say the most moving solo of
the evening was Bewitched and had some audience members in tears. I would of liked to accredit these
performances to the individuals that performed them but sadly their names did not appear next to the
songs in the programme but I hope if they read this they will give themselves a well deserved pat on the
back.
The chorus numbers were very well executed and basic choreography incorporated to add a dynamic
level. Again, the singing was excellent in these pieces and songs such as Putting on the Ritz and The
Lambeth Walk put a smile on the faces of many. The show ended with Millennium Prayer and Wellerman
which was lovely ending to the show combining all the cast together. The young theatre group were
wonderful and their renditions of songs such as Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Joshua were
wonderful and many an audience member had a smile on their face when they saw them
The whole show ran smoothly with many wonderful moments included. The costumes were well thought
out and helped each section become coherent and run together well. The only criticism I have is that the
changes between songs were a little slow at times and there was a few times the audience were sat in
darkness waiting for the next number. But on the whole it was an enjoyable experience and was lovely to
see such and wide range of songs from the past sung and performed exquisitely.

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