Moana JR

The stage was open when we walked into the auditorium at Harpers, Matt Hepplestone and his team at Red Floral Architecture had once again worked their magic on the proscenium - there was an abundance of large tropical looking flowers and leaves, vibrant colours instantly transported your mind away from rainy Bredbury. The confectionary stall was surrounded by coconuts and we were served by someone wearing a lei, it all added to the experience and built up even more anticipation for the actual show. I had decided to put Drama Dept to the ultimate test for this production of Moana JR, I took two guests with me, one of them the fiercest critic of all - a 4 year old!

From the moment the music started she was mesmerised, she never took her eyes off the action on stage, she wriggled/danced to the music all the way through. It was very obvious to me that through her eyes she was seeing pure magic - the production with its noise, vibrancy and vitality enveloped her and transported her right into the story. She was particularly enamoured with Maui (Daniel Eccles) at one point he ran past us - I thought she was going to follow him!

The small  stage was cleverly used at Harpers for this production with very minimal scenery as such, mainly cast carrying pieces on with them. A large triangular piece of fabric was secured at either side of the stage and  used as a sail and to host projections on , it was  visual, dramatic and very effective. Sound was good all the way through , no gremlins at all and a good balance between vocals ,dialogue and orchestral music. The lighting plot was interesting and varied, it added an extra dimension to the scenes, they kept them strong and vibrant . Costumes were to a very good standard , age appropriate and very much in keeping, the way Tamatoa (Beth Moran) and her claws were costumed was very effective. The Ocean Ensemble as they executed some difficult choreography which required good musicality and timing as well as the dance steps and leaps used some fans with trailing material to portray the movement of the waves ebbing, flowing and crashing - they looked fantastic, very visual, an inspired choice of prop.

Niamh Edge as Moana gave a strong performance, she had some lovely stage prescence, a little tip would be to look at the audience a bit more to make and secure a strong  connection. Her vocals were strong and solid, she certainly held her own against the larger than life character Maui played by Daniel Eccles. Daniel is so comfortable on stage playing a comedic character, he has inbuilt good comedic timing and he instictively knows how to work an audience. His character exuded joy and fun, his dialogue was clear, projection great  and vocals were strong, he controlled the pace of the show well. Hei Hei played by Brodie Robson was also a larger than life character, he had some great one liners which he delivered clearly and with good comedic timing. The ensemble worked very hard in this production, the dances were not a basic level and were executed well, everyone looked engaged and happy to be on stage.Iam stuck between two musical numbers to choose as my personal favourite - I loved the ocean musical section because the choreography by Jessica Haslam was fresh, innovative, challenging, intense and executed to an excellent level by the dancers but I also loved "You`re Welcome" because of the sheer joy, energy and pace in the piece. Gary Jones choreographed this ensemble piece and again it was fresh and exciting, punchy, fast paced and executed well. To have put a show of this standard on the stage in only two weeks shows a certain level of grit, determination and commitment from all involved. Well Done Drama Dept - my guests and I completely loved the performance, see you all again very soon.

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