Me and My Girl

As seen by Debi Weaver (NODA SW District 13 Representative) and Matthew Heaton (NODA South-west Regional Councillor) on Friday 4th October 2024 at The Bristol Hippodrome.

Director: David Baxter            Assistant Director: Alex Turasiewicz

Musical Director: Conal Bembridge    Assistant MD: Brendan Casey

Choreographer: Jacquie Bell        Assistant Choreographer: Adele Stitch    

Me and My Girl originally written by L. Arthur Rose and Douglas Furber, with music composed by Noel Gay was first performed in 1937. In 1984, the musical was revised by Stephen Fry and Mike Ockrent, bringing it to a new generation and leading to its successful West End and Broadway revivals. I will say up front that I absolutely love this musical, it is a firm favourite of mine and one that I saw multiple times in the West End, and as a new graduate I remember attending a cattle call audition for it in the 80’s. (I was unsuccessful, but never mind!). I was therefore very excited to come along and see this show for the first time in my role as Rep. BLOC Productions did not disappoint, I absolutely loved it. This show is such a delightful, feel-good musical that left me grinning from ear to ear.

The set was hired from Scenic Projects, which is a change from previous self-build.  The set fitted the venue really well and was of an excellent quality and construction. It was well-used to develop the flow of the whole production, with an impressive fold out house, a selection of high-quality cloths and a great fun car.

In terms of the staging, the Director (David Baxter) ensured the pace was kept sharp ensuring all the comedy moments really came through. The scene transitions were mainly covered by the cast with choreography and small vignettes from the ensemble which worked well in general. There were some occasions where this maybe didn’t feel quite so necessary, as focus was pulled from the end of one scene into the next before the previous was finished. For example, our enjoyment of the end of “Once You Lose Your Heart” was distracted by the scene being cleared by multiple people and for some time before the end of the song, where there was still scene change time to follow. Maybe lowering the lights/increasing the spot on Sally, could have avoided the level of distraction in this case. 

The lighting and sound design worked well to enhance the performance. This is not the type of show that has significant lighting requirements, but you made some excellent uses of colour to create atmosphere, particularly using the house. Effects for the lamppost ‘dream’-sequence worked really well too. As already referred to, there was a conscious staging decision not to drop the lighting for transitions with varying results. The haze application became a little distracting at times, but the dry ice was managed expertly. Sound in general was very good – well-cued, managed and balanced with the orchestra. There was a struggle with levels and diction in the opening ‘A Weekend at Hareford’ but credit to you in addressing this going forward so well. In general, both Sound and Lighting were excellent. 

The costumes perfectly captured the 1930’s aristocratic world of Hareford Hall as well as the Lambeth characters and were all in keeping, of good quality for all performers and looked fabulous. Hair and Make-up followed this trend also.  Properties were all suitably of the period and of good quality also.

In Reviewing the Principal Characters: 

Bill Snibson. A Standout performance, you fully embodied Bill’s cheeky charm with a perfect blend of comedic timing, some great physical humour, but also you performed with sincerity, well done. 

Sally Smith.A strong and warm performance, your vocals and dancing were beautiful, and you made a lovely and honest combination with Bill. 

The Duchess. composed and commanding performance. The trick with this part is that we still need to like the character even with the objective of breaking up Bill and Sal, which you completed successfully.

Sir John.I really enjoyed your performance, your scene with Bill had me in hysterics – you formed a quite excellent double-act with him and acted (and sang) drunk very well!

Lady Jaqueline. This is a great role, and you really made the most of it. A very strong performance, I really enjoyed your attempts at flirting with Bill. Again, some great vocals and dancing.

Gerald. Often played sillier - more of a ‘Hooray Henry’, but you took a quite different, more refined interpretation which worked well. You could certainly do it all in terms of acting, singing and dancing.

Parchester. Another stand-out performance some great physicality, and dancing, my eyes were drawn to your character throughout, and “Family Solicitor” a highlight. 

Lord and Lady Battersby - a great partnership, some of your reactions to Bill and interactions between each other were hilarious.

Mrs Brown. Sally’s cockney landlady, another strong performance.

Charles.You portrayed the proper servant with elegance and some well-chosen disapproving expressions.

Sir Jasper Tring - again some great comedy moments as the oblivious and deaf aristocrat you had me laughing out loud at times.

As I’ve come to expect from BLOC every ensemble member fully committed to their roles, with high energy, some great characterisation, vocals and choreography. The choreography by Jacquie Bell was quite outstanding throughout the show, with both your experienced and less-experienced dancers. Particular highlights were the “Lambeth Walk”, “Song of Hareford”, “Sun has Got His Hat On” (loved the Cricket Bat inclusion) and the Lamppost ‘dream’ sequence, which was quite exceptional.

The music and orchestra were well under-control by Conal Bembridge.  Solo numbers and Chorus Numbers were all very-well sung and the balance with the Orchestra was quite excellent, who played faultlessly. 

In summary BLOC’s production was both joyous and uplifting and was a great evening’s entertainment, maintaining their reputation of being one of the outstanding productions in the region each year. 

  PLEASE NOTE:

Any observation made by the reviewer can only be based on what he sees at the performance in question.  The reviewer may have received information in advance of the performance, and it is inevitable that his assessment will be effected by that knowledge.

The N.O.D.A. Representative’s intention is to give an objective critique of the overall production and in particular the performance viewed.  It should be remembered that any review of this nature can only be objective as far as the techniques used during the performance observed.  Any criticisms expressed may not have been valid at other performances, and are only made to encourage higher standards in Amateur Theatre.

It is hoped that the audience’s appreciation of your efforts will have given everyone a lift and encouraged you to greater achievements in the future and that the observations made by the reviewer will prove helpful in improving future productions.

 

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