Me & My Girl

There is rarely a reason that we struggle to talk about a show, one scenario is that it was very poor and you struggle to say anything positive. On the other hand it could be so fantastic that it is hard to know what to mention, as there were so many strong positives. We can say that Clitheroe Parish Church AODS’s ‘Me & My Girl’ definitely fulfilled criteria for the latter. 

The director in his final message to the cast said that in his initial brief he wanted everyone to have a purpose for being on the stage by being character. This we can say was delivered superbly by all on stage and people were constantly catching your eye for all the right reason. The whole cast had taken on their own characters which were maintained throughout. There were some fantastic facial expressions, body language and movements. Some of the stand out characteisations were the younger females fulfilling the ‘flapper’ style of character. Also authentic accents were well executed and diction in song and dialogue was fantastic sometime strong accents can mean this clear delivery is lost but not in this show. 

The principales were excellently well cast and suited to the roles they played beautifully. The comedy moments were brought to the forefront, with expert comedy timing that has become a standard for this society. The narrative was put across extremely well.  One small nagging issue was some of the principle cast taking on dual roles and appearing in the chorus. It is understandable why this was done, with the female to male ratios being so low. Never the less it was a little strange seeing gentry and family members cleaning the pots in the ‘William of Hareford’ scene.

The ‘Lambeth Walk’ is a mammoth song and it is easy for fatigue to set in. This song had its gradual build, ending with the full on high energy dance routine which it requires. This said the energy throughout the whole show was great and after a week of sell out shows it was an amazing achievement that the cast had managed to maintain this until the final curtain closed. 

There was some great vocals and harmony from the entire cast. Singing parts and orchestra well balanced, fabulous light and shade was heard throughout due to superb dynamics. Choreography was outstanding once again, fitting for both the era and the style of music. Some Charleston inspired choreography could be seen as well as some classic balletic movements. It was all very well executed by the cast, which is no mean feat due to the wide range of dance styles from tap to ballet. This enabled the society to showcase their great ability. ‘The sun has got his hat on’ was a triumph with the full cast pulling off a taxing tap routine to open act two. 

The set was well designed and built. The subtle changes were enough to ensure the story was understood. Also the costumed stage crew, dressed as house staff, did not go unnoticed and was a nice touch. Scene changes seemed integral being very slick and did not interrupt the pace of the show. However being super critical the speakers blocked the action on the far stage aprons this particularly affected the scene with Mrs Brown, meaning it lost some of its impact, this was a shame.

The sound was very well managed throughout the show, with just one minor missed sound cue. This was excellent taking into consideration the large number of microphones on stage and the huge amount of cues which would have been required in quick succession. Lighting was also of a good standard for the whole show. The costumes helped to finish off the entire show being well fitted, varied and suitable for the era. Hair and makeup added a final touch of class with some very neat styles which again complimented the cast and characters, 

‘Me & My Girl’ was a thoroughly enjoyable show, with no weak links. The society should be immensely proud that they once again wowed the audience at so many sell out performance. We would like to thank the society for their hospitality and wish them well for their joint musical revue show later this year and also for their play in October.

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