Sister Act

It was a great pleasure to visit Hilltop Theatre Company at the Pentyrch Village Hall on behalf of my colleague Matthew Bryant, to review their production of Sister Act. I can honestly say that I have not felt so welcome in a very long time, and I thank you all for making the experience so enjoyable. 

Sister Act has got to be one of the most popular shows on the amateur circuit and it is always interesting to see what each society achieves in making their production different. 

The show started with an open stage showing  a cabaret setting, with seated customers eagerly waiting for the cabaret to start. Deloris and her girls were ready to perform, and the audience were  made to feel part of the scene. It was very well choreographed and made for a dynamic start to the show. 

From her opening number Amy Phillips as Deloris Van Cartier left no one in any doubt as to why she had secured this role. With powerful vocals and excellent characterisation, she strutted her stuff, showing excellent comic timing and some very convincing emotional changes.  

Mother Superior played by Linda Coombes, really looked the part [a compliment] She had the character perfectly and the audience were clearly enthralled with her rendition of “I haven’t got a prayer”. 

Sister Mary Robert played by Sarah-Jen Lord gave a lovely rendition of “The life I never led” and Sister Mary Patrick played by Claire Totten made up a very successful Deloris supporters club along with Angie Driscoll as Sister Lazurus, who produced an excellent characterisation with superb comic timing. 

Amy Coombes and Laura Brind as The Backing Singers Tina and Michelle gave an energetic performance so in character, especially for the opening scene. Phil Davies as Monsignor O’Hara was excellent casting. A perfect character, very convincing. 

Liam Daly as Eddie Southern put everything into his performance giving us the unsure character who desperately wanted to be seen in a different light. I felt that the very difficult song “I could be that Guy” needed a more visual picture to show the two different personality changes that were occurring inside Eddie. 

Congratulations to the resident bad guys Matthew lee as Curtis Jackson ,Shane Probert [TJ] ,Lewis Gunter [Joey] Richard Jones [Ernie] James Gardner [Pablo] 

There were some very good choral numbers, performed with such enthusiasm and well-choreographed for such a limited space. My congratulations to Choreographer Carla Gambrini. 

I must also comment on a very successful musical accompaniment. The sound from the band filled the hall without drowning the vocals. An accomplishment to be congratulated for Musical Director Jane Coles. 

A well-directed show  and a performance to be proud of for Director Amanda Campbell. 

My congratulations to you all and a big thank you for the warm welcome.

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