St Albans Gang Show 2020

What an explosion of sound and colour this production was, with much enthusiasm and confidence from the cast, which can only be achieved by the dedication of the production and technical teams.

I am always in awe of the level of performance attained, the precision and brilliant ideas that go to make this such a super production, and one which we look forward to every year.  The planning alone must be achieved with military precision to get so many young people on stage, with every number well-sync’d and presented, numerous changes of costume, personal mics and actually getting everyone onstage at the right time is a massive undertaking, and one that the audience are not aware of, as everything seems to run without problem!

The choreographic side of the production is a huge undertaking for the team – not only teaching the movements, but getting the cast to the high standard that they all achieve – well done to everyone.

Musically very tuneful – Eleanor Petch has a great band, and with the help of Sian Turner and Lee Turner get the cast to a good level of musicality and sound.  Some beautiful and different arrangements from the team of well-known songs made them fresh and even more enjoyable.

Costume managers Danielle Broxton and Clare Roberts have a huge team to assist in producing the imaginative and wearable costumes for each number.

Lighting was good throughout.

I liked the effect of the white base costume with plaid ties round the waist for the opening, and the choice of songs was different and striking.  Lucas Hooper and Ysabelle Cooper performed their rapping and solos in Sax very well.

Misheard Lyrics was great fun and very slick – well done Sophie Chester and Emily Pidcock. 

Dressing Up was good fun, with the Superheroes, Pirates, Cowboys – the line dance was especially well danced. The soloists in each section, Sophie Lord, Mason Day and Hollie Heading for Dressing Up In Style, Harry Donkin, Agnes Tyley and Sam Adkins as Pirates, with Daisy Page, Rhi Berryman and Bethany Moss fronting the Line Dance section all performed great energy and style.

The quartet of Ella Sheen, Jevon Landridge, Gaby Ward and Daniel Aw achieved some lovely harmonies!

Survival Tips was extremely well-performed by Aidan Chester and Jack Raffo, the posh-off was great, they both projected well with excellent diction.

The Garden Centre set was great – the Roses, Evergreens and Sunflowers wore very inventive costumes, with charming numbers well-delivered.  Connor Jackson solo’d in L.O.V.E. which he sung well, and I was impressed with Amelia Pagett’s solo in Evergreen.

Funky Dance was a very slick number, good projections made the whole number very effective – with Aya Abu-Qalbain, Lauren King, Lara Maynard, Izzy Hayes, Mary Kirk, Jayden Thornton, Oliver MacKinnon, Emily Kanzantzis and Sophie Lord attacking the choreography with vigour and expression.

The finale of Act 1 was charming – with good solos from Oscar Mitchell, Joni Baskerville, Eva Maynard and Joshua Shana. The final two numbers were very well sung, good dynamics with a beautiful and special arrangement of the third song.

We went into Act 2 with the Museum set – good solo from Jenna Whettam in the Dinosaur number, loved the diverse groups, i.e. Dinosaurs, Kings and Queens, Knights and Egyptians – all nicely performed, with Sophie Chester’s solo as Cleopatra good.

The Messenger number was slick and clever – giving Finlay Cooper, Ysabelle Cooper, Maddie Wills and Noa Friesen the chance to shine – again good projection and characterisations.

The Friends number created a good contrast to the other sets, incorporating 10 rows of cast, with Eva Keane, Seth Baskerville, Sophie McKinnon, Milena Zolynski and Laura Keating all performing their solos with confidence.

The Cats number used familiar music but in a completely different way, which was striking and showed good dancing skills along with patterns that were very interesting.  Well-performed.

Ello Ello was a fun sketch, with Alice Jenkins and Megan Keating making the most of being two Policemen – I enjoyed what they did.

The Money set was again inventive, Jevon Landridge and Jayden Thornton shone in the first number, there was a good connection between them with loads of energy and good vocals.  Can’t Buy Me Love showcased three very good soloists in Oliver MacKinnon, Ollie Adkins and Hannah Rees, with Lauren King, Polly Alexander fronting In the Money and Aya Abu-Qalbain and Gaby Ward doing Moneybox – all performing well, with the soloists uniting for the closing number. 

Sweet Scout of Mine was a fun concept – Maddie Wilding, Sophie McKinnon, Hollie Heading and Milena Zolynski performed the action well, with good vocals from Maddie Wilding.

We then went into the finale, which as always is excellent – Just One Person was sung extremely well by Lauren King, Oliver MacKinnon and Aya Abu-Qalbain, and I just love when the tabs part and the whole cast gives voice – a stunning moment.  Well done to Harrison Farrow and Luke Collis for delivering the Thank You’s with clarity.

So, another Gang Show is over – the standard was high this year, and showcased the talent within both the creative teams and the cast, with the ensemble as well as the soloists proving to be lively and expressive.  Very enjoyable, a production we always look forward to, I can’t praise everyone highly enough.

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