Shake Ups

With so many shows around featuring songs from the musicals, it’s good to have a gimmick and South Downe Musical Society have come up with a novel approach with Shake Ups. Why not let the ladies sing the men’s songs (and vice versa) and ignore any age considerations when selecting the performers? This means everyone gets to sing songs they might enjoy but would never otherwise be chosen to present, and it led to some surprisingly beautiful performances and amusing renditions of familiar numbers.

The Gaiety on South Parade Pier is a very pleasant venue and, with the chairs arranged around tables, cabaret style, the bar open throughout the show, and many people meeting friends they hadn’t seen for a long time, there was a jolly party atmosphere.

I always think that compilation shows like this require a lot more planning and rehearsal than a standard book show and Director Emma Brown, along with MDs Emily Horner and Becky Musgrave must be congratulated on coming up with such a refreshingly eclectic but cohesive selection of numbers, ranging from the very familiar to ones where I haven’t heard of the show before, let alone the song. The songs were held together with introductions by the ever-genial Alan Jenkins.

I started writing a list of favourites but found I’d listed virtually every number. Suffice it to say that each one was performed exceptionally well, with confidence and style. Choreography (Sarah Powney and Becky Musgrave) was inventive, especially given the small stage space, and well executed. Costumes were simple but well-chosen and effective – as were the backing tracks. Lee Stoddart’s lighting design was stunning, enhancing the performances. The sound, while loud enough and well balanced, seemed to lack some clarity.

The highlights for me? Well, for humour, it would be hard to beat Peta and Steve Reading’s gender swapped “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease, or Alan Jenkins’ cleverly re-written and self-effacing rendition of “I’m Still Here” from Follies. Most heart-wrenching and beautifully sung was Becky Musgrave’s “Bui Doi” from Miss Saigon. Fin Hughes impressed me greatly with his fluid movements throughout the show but particularly in his solo “The History of Wrong Guys” from Kinky Boots. The song that struck the loudest chord with me was Gilly Williams’ “Michael in the Bathroom” from Be More Chill. The two big company numbers that finished the acts were both so well executed, but especially “The World Will Know” from Newsies.

What a great concept Shake Ups turned out to be! It really shone new light on familiar songs and showed that they can be performed by anyone equally well. I could see that everyone in the cast was having a fantastic time and so were we in the audience! Thank you South Downe for giving us a fantastic night out.

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