Sister Act

It’s some time since I had the pleasure of watching the school’s annual production and, as an alumnus of the school, it was lovely to be invited back to watch this show.

WHSG is unique in my experience in that, apart from one musician and the creative team, everything else in the performance, is done by the students. This includes all the technical support, stage management and crew in addition to the cast.

The lead role of Deloris Van Cartier was beautifully played by Shirley Che-Mujith. Shirley has a superb ‘gospel’ voice, aptly suited to the character and her performance was very strong from the start. Great characterisation and terrific stage presence. Mother Superior was played by Emery Howard-Spitzer, a lovely calming performance with just the right level of acidity and a lovely singing voice as well.

Iris-Lilly Oldham played sister Mary-Patrick, and this was a joyous performance, Iris-Lilly has fabulous facial expressions which lit up her performance throughout. Sophie Morrison played Sister Mary-Lazarus. A great characterisation and a perfect pairing with Iris-Lily, together they were very entertaining. Maisie Thorn played postulant Sister Mary-Robert, a delightful performance which she developed through the show with great confidence. Subomi Adenusi played Monsignor O’Hara well, overcoming a slight hesitancy with her lines which she handled well, showing great confidence in dealing with it. Then she never put a foot wrong so, very well done.

Oliver Bearman played police officer Eddie Southern (Sweaty Eddie). This was a stellar performance and Oliver demonstrated a range of emotions and behaviour that perfectly fitted the character. He has an astonishing vocal range; this is not an easy part to play, and Oliver nailed it. Calum Laird played gangster Curtis Jackson. A good performance but I would have liked him to be much nastier, the evilness was not pronounced enough for me. 

The three henchmen were played by Presley Fleming, a lively performance as TJ, Cassie Gillings, a strong performance as Joey and Elena Ibarra-Shah as Pablo. They made a good team, each character complementing the other two. This was a big cast and, much as I would like to mention everyone by name, I just don’t have the space in this report. What was very apparent was the dedication each performer had given to their individual character. Each one remained in character throughout the performance which built on the overall effect of the show. Even towards the end of the show, there were strong performances happening, no-one dropped out of character and with a cast of this size, it was impressive to see. The overall enthusiasm and energy from the cast was outstanding.

The band were excellent, all students apart from one, they produced a good sound which did not overpower the performances. The costumes were good, although I would have liked to see a little more attention to detail in some of the supporting characters, leggings do not work as a uniform garment!

The set was simple but very effective, using lighting to create the different looks for each scene. However, I do have a comment on the lighting; on occasions the lighting at the rear of the stage was overpowering to the audience. I was sitting in the front row and there were occasions when I simply had to close my eyes to avoid the blinders. I would recommend that the lighting designer sits in that row during the technical run. A simple adjustment to the range of the revolve would have sorted it. However, it did not detract from my enjoyment of the show.

Overall, a joyous and entertaining show, with an enthusiastic and talented cast. My thanks for the hospitality shown to us, we had a lovely evening’s entertainment.

Tessa Davies

Councillor, NODA East

 

 

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.