Songs for a new world

Songs for A New World, the ‘snapshot’ musical by Jason Robert Brown was presented by Stone Revellers as this year’s Musical Theatre Genre.

This is a tricky piece as it follows no central storyline or character and has no dialogue. The show moves swiftly, through song, featuring a host of characters facing various situations, moments and experiences. The revellers chose to use a larger group of players rather than the four actors it is normally based around. This worked well and the range of ages and styles complimented the show.

What always strikes me about the Revellers is their innovative use of the limited performance space on offer to them. A small central platform with two side areas made for interest as to did the props hung from the rear wall, I loved this idea. From my seat in the audience it was a little difficult to engage with the area furthest away from me and I was slightly stiff from having to constantly change my body position to see the action taking place across the whole width of the hall. This may be worth a thought for future performances. Costumes were simple, understated and suited each of the characters.

The pace of the show was slick and transitions between ‘scenes’ had been well thought out. Each member of the cast played an integral part of each song either as backing singers or as the principal character. There was some lovely staging ideas and choreography.

Notable performances were by Charlotte Murfin, Lauren Turner and Matt Dewey, who delivered their songs with real confidence and style. Charlotte’s delivery of the comedy was spot on. However, saying that, all of the performers were committed to their performance and worked well as an ensemble. At times there was evidence that the challenging music was a little out of reach but the hard work put in to it was evident. The small band was just enough for the venue and praise must go to the hard work of the pianist.

This is not a show I have seen before and I enjoyed it immensely. Congratulations to the cast, production team and musicians.

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