Sister Act Jr.

This was another of Limelight’s ‘Show in a Week’ productions, held during the summer holidays with 39 cast members, eight young crew members, and one young creative. They  all did an amazing job reaching such a high standard, especially while rehearsing through the hottest days of the year. Once they moved into the theatre on Thursday, they benefited from air conditioning, and by their two performances on Saturday thankfully the weather had cooled slightly.

The lead role of Deloris was performed by the highly talented Ella Standring. She gave a word-perfect delivery, powerful voice and vibrant energy. This contrasted beautifully with Laura McLeish’s captivating, mellow tones of the Mother Superior who showed a calm and compassionate side to her character. A superb performance from them both. Grace Boyton gave an accomplished, lively and enthusiastic performance as Mary Patrick, while Niamh Donelan beautifully portrayed a young postulant nun inspired by Deloris to gain confidence and find her own voice. Both had solo moments within the group numbers and delivered them with real quality.

Special mention should go to the “bad guys”: Curtis, played by Oscar Blackwell, and his gang Joey, TJ and Pablo, played by Charlie Utley, Charles Brennan and Albie Brennan. Each brought a distinct, comically cool character to the stage and portrayed them well. Sam Jennings was also well cast as Eddie, the sweet, dependable cop with a crush on Deloris, who was tasked with keeping her safe until she reached court.

With such a large cast of talented performers the creative team had also split some of the roles to give opportunities to more of the cast to showcase their talents. My apologies for not being able to name you individually but suffice it to say they all acted their roles superbly with many little stand-out characters and moments.  The singing was of a very high standard with some fabulous harmonies and excellent dance routines and to think they had achieved this so brilliantly in just a week.

As noted earlier, nine young people also took on crew responsibilities, and Limelight deserves credit for encouraging these vital backstage roles. The Creative Team had shared the tasks of direction, choreography and musical direction brilliantly and as one young person said to me after the show “they were so calm, organised and encouraging” despite the time restraints they were under.  Lighting and  sound by Limelight’s Chairman, James was excellent and was set against the impressive scenic arched portal, curtesy of Deben Players.  All the costumes looked wonderful and the limited  props and furniture were more than enough with changes handled smoothly,  mainly by the cast.

Very well done to all the Cast and Creatives.  It was evident that you had all enjoyed your very valuable experience and you gave us and your audience a very entertaining evening which was rewarded with a standing ovation.

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