Me And My Girl

The story of ‘Me and My Girl’ revolves around an unrefined cockney gentleman who learns that he is the 14th heir to the Earl of Hareford. However, he will only receive his inheritance if his aunt and her confidante Sir John approve of him. The Duchess feels that with a little grooming, Bill will be suitable to inherit the title – and the money. However, she insists that Bill break up with his girlfriend, Sally. Bill refuses to accept the title if cannot keep Sally as his girl. Eventually, thanks to Sir John, Sally is groomed to become more lady-like. Thus, Bill is allowed to inherit the title and keep his girl.

This show never loses its appeal for audiences and Newcastle Operatic Society delivered a pleasing rendition, which had the audience laughing, clapping along and immensely enjoying their night out.

The opening scene welcomed us to the grounds of Hareford Hall and the exterior of the house. The use of the revolve helped move the scenes inside. It would have been nice to see the interior of the hall being dressed more elaborately but overall it worked well and gave enough of a gesture towards the selected time and place.

The costumes gave a good indication of the period of the musical and denoted well the difference between the upper and lower classes. However, I was a bit bemused when Sally entered the party at the end of Act 1 as she wasn’t in the full Lambeth walk gear with feathers and pearls galore. She looked far too respectable to try and show Bill that she wasn’t a suitable companion.

Although this show is a traditional show I don’t think a traditional lighting plot was necessarily a good choice. The use of follow spots every time someone sings becomes a bit of a distraction and the overall plot could have had a brighter, fresher look.

Kristian Thomas Walker, who played the loveable rogue Bill Snibson, has to be commended on his performance. He was cheeky, likeable and is obviously an accomplished dancer and singer. He delivered his lines with ease and moved effortlessly around the stage delivering both the physical and vocal humour well. Kristian led a good strong group of principals who moved the story along with great characterisation and delivery of both dialogue and songs.

The company, and those taking the minor roles, entered into the spirit of the show and brought life and added humour to their scenes. It was a nice touch to have the ancestors still holding their picture frames during ‘Men of Hareford’ and though few in number the men certainly filled the auditorium with some powerful and rich vocals.

Using a troop of dancers, again is a very traditional thing to do and maybe more time needs to be spent integrating them in with the rest of the company. The ballet scene was a little sparse (and also lacked Sally’s presence) and I just found myself wondering why all these girls turned up in the street, wearing very similar dresses and dancing in the half light. For me, this scene particularly would’ve benefitted from a much stronger story line.

‘Me and My Girl’ is a good old traditional musical comedy. Slap stick comedy, jokes which make you groan and smile at the same time, a fun plot line and some great well known tunes that you can’t help but hum along to. Newcastle Operatic did a great job and should be very pleased with another successful show.

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