OUR HOUSE

Our House is one of those musicals that is given life by the iconic music, which is fun, joyful and nostalgic.  The storyline relies heavily on the good v bad sides of the central character, which was mostly given due consideration by the Director, with good movement of cast on the small stage.

Musically good – I thought the band/stage sound balance was excellent, particularly given that the band were secreted in the scenery dock!  Very good band, who supported the actors and made the score very on point.  There were a couple of places where harmonies didn’t quite hit, but mostly it sounded really good.  I particularly enjoyed the Joe/Dad duet, good blending of voices and harmonies.

Choreography was executed well throughout, with Baggy Trousers being a highlight.  I felt the Joe/Sarah duet was a little static.

Lighting was very good – lovely nuances of colours, the rain and fire were beautifully executed, I loved the dappled/bubble effect during Joe & Sarah/s dance, and the blue light on Dad wherever he was on stage was very effective.

The platform at the back of the stage gave a dimension to the production, and the back projections were good for signifying the different scenes.  Maybe too many blackouts for me – but understand the need for definition of scenes.  I did notice that a red door was mentioned in the script, but a green door was the seat of the fire – just a small point!

Liam Rowlands (Joe) as the central actor, sang very well, and the quick changes from black to white were well-achieved.  Allanah Rogers (Sarah) showed how she has grown as a performer, singing and acting the part well, possibly the best I have seen from Allanah.

Mick Hale (Dad) showed his grasp of the part with the ease of an experienced performer, the change between the various emotions was marked and very well done.  Lorna Trapp (Kath) gave us the archetypal Irish mother – with joy and despair, a lovely portrayal.

The duo of Alex Parsons (Lewis) and Alex Currie (Emmo) showed their support of Joe, and gave a good account of their characters, with Jayda Moyse (Billie) and Kyra Spratley (Angie) being suitably ditzy and supportive of Sarah.  Good groupings.

Harvey Eldridge (Reecey) was a very different part for him to get his teeth into – menacing but with a swagger.

Paul Blackwell (Pressman – and various other parts) performed them all with aplomb.

The ensemble – Adam Butcher, Eleanor Foster, Helen Rudderham, Elizabeth Hale (good ‘character’ cameos), Louise Holah, Naomi Star, Nick Norkins and Rosy Clinton also undertook other parts, and added energy to the musical numbers where needed.

Overall a joyous, confident and energetic production that I enjoyed.  My thanks to DMTC for their hospitality good to catch up with so many amdram colleagues too.

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