Sister Act

Sister Act is a story about Deloris, a night club singer, who witnesses her boyfriend/ club owner Curtis murder someone. She escapes gets police protection, with the help of an old flame Eddie, a police officer, and is hidden in a convent. She has a difficult relationship with the mother superior but redeems herself by transforming the Choir and saving the convent from closure. All the while Curtis and his gang are looking for her adding to the peril.

The set involved the use of scaffolding to give levels to the stage and the audience could see the orchestra through a curtain behind the main action. The music was of an excellent standard and could easily have been interchanged with any adult performance I have seen. The score is certainly not easy, so well done to all. Scene changes were slick and involved the use of items that effectively gave the impression of the scene rather than elaborate backdrops. The stage crew and technical were proficient.  

On Wednesday, Deloris was played well by Beau Hurley. Beau had great characterisation and a confident stage presence. At first, it seemed the music drowned out her voice and she was more confident with her lower register but her rendition of ‘Sister Act’, in the second Act, displayed her range well. Curtis was played confidently by Thomas Hutchins. Thomas had a natural stage presence and displayed excellent characterisation. He also demonstrated his status in the gang well. The gang were Gryff Evans as TJ, he had some funny lines that were a little lost sometimes, which was a shame, and he demonstrated a great singing voice. Joey was played by Luke Sayers, He was another comedic character and seemed to really enjoy his role; he had an enthusiasm that suited the character and warmed the audience.  I enjoyed the relationship between the gang members and the group was completed by Pablo played by Toby Goddard. Toby spoke, what sounded to me, like very good Spanish, and was the butt of a few jokes too as he misinterpreted the instructions he was given by the boss.

Our hero, police officer, Eddie, was played by Malichi Campbell. A handsome, funny, but insecure character who had had a crush on Deloris since their High School days. There was a blossoming of a relationship between the two; Eddie sang ‘I could be that guy’ and it was hard not to feel some affection for him and hope that Deloris would love him too.

In the convent, Mother Superior was played by Anna Gellett. Anna was a confident all rounder with excellent characterisation and a beautiful singing voice. Showing great maturity, Anna was very believable and commanded her scenes well. The other Nuns were good too; exhibiting great characterisation. Bethan Rees played Mary Patrick, an exuberant character, full of life and enthusiasm, Mary Lazarus was played by Mya Clelland, I really enjoyed her character, full of cynicism but with a wicked sense of fun. Tilly Harper played the shy novice Nun, Mary Robert, who with the help of Deloris, is able to raise her voice to sing. She sang ‘The Life I never Led’ perfectly and clearly.

The following section refers to Tuesday’s performance reviewed by Tessa Davies of NODA:

Shoebury High School has a policy to allow as many students as possible to take principal roles in their productions.  At the Tuesday performance the role of Deloris was played by Daniella Sneaden.  This was a good performance, although Daniella was a little tentative to start with.  I would have liked to see a more 'glamorous' Deloris for the opening number which was in a nightclub.  Daniella delivered the song well, although she did not appear too comfortable with the key in which the song was written.  She relaxed into the part as the show progressed and displayed a stronger characterisation later in the show.

Mother Superior was played by Rosa Horrocks and she displayed an excellent understanding of the character from the beginning of the show.  I loved her facial expressions which really did reflect the dialogue.  Her characterisation was spot on and a joy to watch.

Sister Mary Robert was played by Milly Ward and she got the characterisation extremely well.  All three girls have excellent singing voices and performed to a very high standard.

On Wednesday, Zara Clark and Cheska Rickett played Mary Martin of Tours and Mary Teresa who made up the rest of the main nun cast.  The Nuns had a lot of songs to sing and they acted and sang really well using harmonies and supporting each other. The overall feel was entertaining and of an excellent standard.

When the whole stage was full, and the entire cast sang, the feeling in the theatre was electric. It was wonderful to see the joy on everyone’s face. There was some really interesting choreography, that showcased the talent in the performing arts department.

There were a few small details that could have been addressed. There were a few issues with microphones and the levels between orchestra and voices could have been better. Generally. the costumes were basic but effective but there were a couple of nuns in the ensemble who had sports wear on with clearly visible contrasting designs on them. Also, some of the cast had make-up and jewellery on that was not in keeping with their characters.  These are small details because the show was great.

The finale was joyful. The stage, on every level, was full of beaming faces. There was a beautiful solo by Emmanuel Oladehin, and then an eruption of sound involving a compilation of music from the Sister Act film soundtrack and the cast danced in unison; it was a celebration of the joy of performing and of sharing talent with friends and family. After so long without the joy of theatre, this show was such a treat, and I felt privileged to have been invited.

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