Nunsense

Dan Goggin wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the comedic musical "Nunsense" in 1985 and was an international hit. It tells the story of The Little Sisters of Lindley, in this production, and how they established a missionary order to manage a leper colony on an island just south of France. What follows are their madcap adventures. The nuns relocated back to Lindley, where they led quiet lives until one day, when 52 of them perished after eating vichyssoise soup that had been contaminated with botulism which was cooked by Sister Julia (Child of God). The Mother Superior devised a plan to raise money so they could bury their sisters after the tragic event. After laying to rest 48 of the nuns, Mother Superior decided to buy a Large Plasma TV thinking there was enough money left the bury the remaining 4, she was wrong. Luckily several of the sisters, who were away playing bingo and spared the same soup fate, were on hand to help Mother Superior and they decided to hold a concert to raise the funds, even though the hall was still decorated from a youth production of Grease and the 4 remaining dead nuns were held in the freezer whilst awaiting burial. All this was going on with the group desperately trying to avoid the glare of the Local Health Inspectors.

I've seen this show before, and it never fails to make me laugh out loud. It has some hilarious musical numbers as well as some excellent characterisations. Supporting the main cast were some excellent actors and there were no weak links in this fabulous company effort.

 Michelle Bates played Mother Superior Sister Mary Regina, the convent's head and a former circus performer. Michelle had great comedy timing and commanded our attention the entire time. One amusing scene with the smell of Rush stands out! I was rolling around in laughter.

Patricia Mayfield was ideal in the role of 2ic Sister Mary Hubert, Mistress of the Novices. Patricia maintained a charming Irish accent throughout the performance and was a delight to watch, especially during the wonderful tap sequence.

The fourth wall was not just broken but completely destroyed by Angela Fisher's portrayal of Sister Robert Anne, a streetwise Brooklyn nun. It is impossible to overstate how much energy she brought.

Hearts were won over by Hayley Taylor's portrayal of Sister Mary Amnesia, a nun with memory loss. Her persona was engaging and witty. Additionally, she was able to perform a "double act" in which she conversed and sang with a puppet. It was a skilfully performed demonstration by a very accomplished performer.

Emma Riley-Tomlinson and Mia Bates (on the night I was present) as Sister Mary Leo a novice who wanted to be a ballerina. Mia acted, sang and danced beautifully and could have been lost against the other stronger characters but Mia held her own and I have no doubts Emma would be just the same.

Pauline Hirons as Sister Julia (Child of God) who was the ill-fated convent cook, brought yet another solid character to life and was completely at ease whenever she was on stage.

As previously mentioned there was some strong support from the other actors making up the company namely Sister Brendan - John Fisher, Sister Patrick - Mary Murray, Sister Virgil - Lynne Silcock,  Sister Luke - Joe Smith and Sister Timothy - Zoe Shackleton. Diction was generally good and dialogue could be heard and followed and having two men play nuns just added another level of humour to this already very funny show.

Musical Director Laura Glaholm did a fantastic job of keeping the cast perfectly timed with the tracks used for the musical numbers. Some see tracks as an easy route, but with no room for error, Laura controlled her singers perfectly. Choreography by Christina Jagger was well constructed, well executed and included a nice tap dance from the ‘nuns’. Staging for this show was a very simple affair consisting of a bar, a sign and some stools. If I’m honest this worked a treat as it never caused a break of pace or a distraction from the antics going on onstage. Sound and lighting were to the high standards I would expect from CS Technical. The costumes looked accurate and were of a high standard.

Congratulations to Director/Producer Dean Patrick for a very funny enjoyable production. Some nice touches like using nuns to change the set around was lovely as it added another level of humour.

Thank you to all at Lindley CAOS for a lovely evening which I could feel was shared by the audience present who were in full praise. My heartfelt thanks go to the warm welcome given by your lovely front of house team to both myself and my wife. I can say with all honesty that seeing you perform is a Habit I do not want to break.

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