Shout

SHOUT a musical staged by Adlington Music and Arts Society at Adlington Community Centre, Railway Road, Adlington, Chorley on Friday, 28th October, 2022

Shout – ‘The Mod Musical’ was written by Philip George and David Lowenstein and feature songs like ‘You're My World’, ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, ‘I Only Wanna be with You’, ‘Those Were the Days’, ‘Downtown’, ‘Gold Finger, ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’ and, of course, ‘SHOUT. The show is set in London between the early 1960s and 1970, and follows the lives of five women… in her 20s is ‘The Red Girl’; in their 30s are the ‘Green, Blue, and Yellow girls’ and in her 40s the ‘Orange girl’.  They all face tough situations, usually involving relationships. During the story, all five women send letters to Gwendolyn Holmes, an Advice Columnist for the magazine "Shout" who gives them advice on how to deal with these situations!

I had the privilege some months ago to visit AMAS and see this production in rehearsal, what I saw that evening just ‘wetted the appetite’ for what was to come!  So having arrived at Adlington Community Centre to find the place almost packed to capacity, I just sat back and waited to see what was to unfold…  I/we were not to be disappointed!

The Production Team… led by Christian Brabin, who not only Directed but Choreographed this production (one role is hard enough, especially with the myriad of authentic dance routines involved) … ‘hats off’ to you sir, an amazing production, with an amazing cast, who were ever so well-rehearsed ... be proud Christian great job!  Louisa Watson (Musical Director), who also took a lead role as ‘Orange Girl’ did a fabulous job with the musical direction of these classic songs… some wonderful voices, some wonderful harmonies and a five-piece band… be ever so proud Louisa!  

The Cast…  ‘Aristotle’ quoted ‘The whole is more than the sum of its parts’ and that was so fitting here at Adlington that evening!  There were so many talented females on stage, individually great, but together as a ‘team’… they were amazing!  This was without doubt a ‘great team performance’ with everyone just oozing confidence, working together whilst giving of their best…. be proud folks, very proud!

So where to start… let’s start by highlighting the five amazing ladies who brought the lead roles to life… Charlotte Greaves played the role of ‘Yellow Girl’ the loud, uninhibited American who’d travelled to the UK to get sight of her crush Paul McCartney, only to be heart broken when he gets married. Charlotte made this part her own… vocally exceptional, she just made singing songs like ‘Son of a Preacher Man’, ‘Shout’, look effortless!   Great stage presence, worked ever so well with the other four… be proud!  ‘Blue Girl’ was played ever so well by Celia Dixon. Celia oozed confidence, style, elegance and stage presence.  Great characterisation, totally believable as she tried to work out why she didn’t like her boyfriends!!!  Another blessed with an amazing voice, knocked ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway’ out the park!  ‘Green Girl’… was played ever so well by Kimberley Barker.  Rude, audacious, says it as it is… another who oozed self-confidence, stage presence and brought sassiness to her character! Loved the moments of comedy, the humour that she brought to the performance, another blessed with great vocal ability.  Be ever so proud Kimberley, great job!  Louisa Watson took on the role of ‘Orange Girl’ … the ‘mother figure’ of the group who provided us with a warm and at times, poignant performance.  Stage presence, strong personality, great characterisation and another with a stunning singing voice… be ever so proud Louisa. Last and certainly not least we had Meredith Atherton taking on the role as ‘Red Girl’, the baby of the group, the naive, insecure young lady who takes us on a journey of ‘self-discovery’! Great characterisation, with some great comedic moments thrown in; another blessed with an amazing voice… be ever so proud Meredith.  Individually great… together as a group amazing… be ever so proud ladies… brilliant job! 

We also had a great performance from our ‘Agony Aunt’ ‘Gwendolyn Holmes’ played well by Alison Fox.
In the 60’s every magazine had its very own agony aunt’… Alison gave us a great characterisation of Gwendolyn, great diction, good comedy inclusion, loved her little ‘pearls of wisdom’ for the girls!
But, ‘What makes a good show great’… THE CHORUS!  The eight ladies forming the chorus, dance, sang, supported and acted their hearts out from first note to last… Caroline Budge, Emma Hickson, Hannah Sutton, Heather Hodgson, Jane Cleary, Kirsten Whittle, Natalie Beaumont and ‘The Leader of the Pack’ (The Dance Captain) Joanne Lister-Ward… should be so proud… you ‘enhanced this production’ so much!

I really can’t leave this production without highlighting MY four favourite songs, ask anyone else and they may well select others, but these are MINE…
i) (Showstopper)… at first, thought it was a solo from ‘Blue Girl’… Celia Dixon and the initial song ‘You’re My World’ probably was, but then Louisa Watson… Orange Girl joined in with ‘All I See is You’… then the mix was amazing, the vocals and the harmonies
    sublime… during the song you could have heard a pin drop, the reaction at the end said it all… really was an amazing vocal!
ii) Up there was ‘Yellow Girl’… Charlotte Greaves and her rendition of ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ which ended up including everyone.  Amazing reaction from audience… well done Charlotte great vocal!
iii) ‘Don’t Sleep in the Subway’… Blue Girl again… Celia Dixon and everyone.  Another that brought the house down… great vocals, great song… be proud Celia, be proud everyone.
iv) Finally … Green Girl… Kimberley Barker did a tremendous job with her rendition of ‘I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love’… sang amazingly well, love the lyrics to this song… well done Kimberley!

Staging/Tech… staging was a minimal, a one set production, which was used to great effect. Loved the little cupboard inclusions in the steps for storage of props etc. The haze, which can cause problems, was used to perfection and created just the right atmosphere… congrats to Stephen Pilkington (Stage Manager) his Set Building/Painting Team that included Cliff Hill, Russ Jones, Brian Horrocks, Howard Bate and Jackie Creer. Lighting was ‘spot on’ … enhancing the show…thanks to Stuart Naylor, Jamie Favell and Kirsty Lofthouse. Sound… was effective and, as with the lighting, enhanced the show … be proud Natalie/Joanna Sweet and Rachel Martin, great job!   Wardrobe was looked after by Meredith Atherton...  costumes were colourful and appropriate and again enhanced the production.

This was a wonderful production appreciated by all present the evening I attended, shown by the applause that greeted the finale number and the ‘standing ovation’ at the end.  This musical may not have sold in the professional world (closed after 2 performances in the UK), but AMAS brought pure nostalgia to Adlington Community Centre and the whole cast and production team are to be congratulated. Things don’t have to be big, lavish or expensive… so long as you’ve got enthusiastic people at the helm, talented people on stage, knowledgeable people backstage and in charge of your ‘techy stuff’ … then, like ‘SHOUT’ you’re on to ‘something special’…. congrats to one and all!

Thank you so much for inviting my wife and I, we thoroughly enjoyed the musical and thanks to Diane Simmons for her warm welcome and her attention throughout.  Really am looking forward to seeing you all again very soon.

Stay Safe – Keep Well
‘Stronger Together’

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6

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