Showtune Shuffle

A fabulous concept with great performers resulted in a brilliant afternoon’s entertainment by Ellesmere MTC.  Taking on different themes each group of tunes selected gave an opportunity for the performers to demonstrate their excellent delivery and timely movement.  Musical Director Gareth Lloyd, who also performed, worked with Producer, Alice Goldsbrough, to create an engaging playlist which included lots of old favourites and well-known songs, but also introduced some of the audience to new and up-to-date numbers which are less frequently performed.

The performers of Ellesmere MTC were supported by young people from Sheffield Performing Arts (SPA) and they were wonderful.  All in time, in step and with broad smiles that portrayed their enjoyment of performing.  Those on stage were dressed to compliment the numbers they were singing and there were changes for the majority of routines.  Clever additions were made to simple everyday wear to keep the interest of the audience.

The first collection of songs reflected the home of the group – ‘Sheffield’ and included numbers from Everyone’s Talking About Jamie and Standing at The Sky’s Edge.  Holly confidently opened the show with a strong rendition of ‘You Don’t Even Know It’ supported by the ensemble and the young people of SPA - this powerful opening set the scene for the rest of the show.  The dancing was excellent and very upbeat with great energy and confident moves.  All the soloists, Holly, Lowri, Keeley, Ashley and Leigh-Anne, in this set deserve a mention bringing relatively new songs to the fore and reflecting the talent in the group.

Moving onto ‘Stage to Screen’ the audience had the opportunity to hear songs that featured on the stage and then moved to film – again with excellent soloists and a wonderful presentation by SPA in ‘Still Holding My Hand’ from Matilda.  A great selection of songs which was rounded off by a powerful ‘Cabaret’ by Bethan whose voice and performances were outstanding throughout the production, including in ‘38 Planes’ (Comes From Away) in the next set – ‘Making History’.   The choices in this collection looked at different productions which reflected periods in history.  Damien’s ‘You’ll Be Back’ was wonderful and he led a tight segway into ‘One Day More’ which was a dramatic end to Act 1.  The ensemble and soloists really gave their all, with movement and ‘costuming’ perfectly reflecting the piece.

After a short interval we were welcomed back with a high energy routine and song from Mary Poppins ‘Step In Time’ – fabulously enhanced with a tap dance routine which opened the ‘Once Upon A Time’ section.  Every dancer in this number was confident and entusiastic.  There were once again strong soloists, Annabel, Ben, Gareth, Kate, Bethan and Isabel with songs from ‘Into the Woods’ and ‘Little Women’.  I really enjoyed the ensemble number from Shrek – ‘Story of my Life’.  Every word was delivered with such clarity and wonderful characterisation.

The final two sets were ‘Broadway Classics’ and ‘Pride’ both offered opportunities for the many talented singers in EMTC to showcase their voices with some excellent choices of songs, including the powerful ‘Anthem’ from Chess by Ashley.  Damien gave another wonderful presentation with ‘Betrayed’ from Producers as did Lowri with a moving rendition of ‘On My Own’ from Les Mis (The only musical which managed to make it into two sets).  There was a rousing finale with a Megamix from ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ which featured all the ensemble and the young performers from SPA – a brilliant way to end a fabulous performance.

Each set was introduced by a member of the cast with interesting reflections on the songs about to be sung.  Throughout the production good use was made of the various entrances on stage and in the auditorium.  The themed projections were excellent and sound and light very strong.  The ensemble worked hard and created some beautiful numbers. There is a strong body of talent in this company and this presentation really showed this to the best. Congratulations to everyone who planned, rehearsed, delivered and brought these numbers to life. 

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