Once

"Once" is a musical I had never heard of , I was excited to see what Whitworth AMDS would do with it, it`s very difficult to get so many actors that can play specific musical instruments. I believe that more than one member of the cast learned how to play a different instrument specifically for this production - now that really does show dedication and committment. We entered the theatre to see an open stage set up like a fully working bar and found ourselves in the midst of an Irish Ceilidh minus the dancing, various musicians were milling about the stage, interacting with the audience and  getting a sing song going with "I`ll Tell Me Ma" generally  generating some great Irish craic.  The stage set was the fixed bar with some extra pieces brought on  - a sofa, some chairs, a table . There was a useable doorway to the side of the bar at the back and the floor had been painted to look like floor tiles -  it looked very effective. The lighting throughout was sympathetic and pertinent to the scenes, I liked the way only a small section of the stage could be lit to create a much smaller and intimate scene. Sound through the show was good , there was a lovely balance between the dialogue, band and actors\musicians on the stage.

There were defintely a few stand out moments in the show for me, I loved when Guy ( Mike Miller) and Girl (Leonie Picariello) played and sang "Falling Slowly". They both intonated some real emotion into their singinging , there was some beautiful light and shade, it conveyed well to the audience. Another stand out moment for me was "Baruska`s Story" it was obviously meant to be serious and Louise Maloney did a fabulous job of it  but the element of fun intonated during the translation from Girl  coupled with the expressions from Guy`s face was comedy genius - I dont know how no one  corpsed. My personal final standout was the scene between Guy and his Da (Keith McEvoy), it was a beautiful scene to watch unfold, the emotion behind the words was displayed for us to see, the timing and delivery was spot on.

Paul Allison (Billy) brought everything to his performance. He had great energy , dialogue in his Dublin accent was good and consistent. His characterisation was larger than life and very funny, his timing was superb. On a personal note, I have lived in Ireland for a great many years and have defintely met people just like his characterisation . The chemistry between Billy, Girl and Guy was very evident, they held their scenes  well. Leonie Picariello was an absolute joy to watch , she really took Girl to heart, I believe she learned the piano especially for this role, she also managed to keep her Czech accent beautifully while singing which is not an easy task. Mike Miller as Guy tried a Dublin accent which unfortunately  kept slipping into much more of a Mancunian accent but that aside he portrayed a convincing characterisation, we could see his inner turmoil about his love for his ex girlfriend  (Racheal O`Mahoney) in New York and his new blossoming feelings for Girl. The whole cast worked well together and the band under the watchful eye of Chris Addington ( Musical Director) produced a great sound. I can imagine it was not an easy task as the various musicians came onto the stage playing their instruments at pertinent points in the story. Jenya Robinson (Choreographer) produced a great visual number at Girl`s house when she took Guy home for tea. There had obviously been a lot of research done and the dance presented well to the audience - all hand movements were synchronised and all foot movements executed to a good standard.  Costumes, hair and make up were in keeping with the era and all looked well under the lighting.

Thank you for inviting me to view your performance, myself and my guest enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.