STARLIGHT EXPRESS

Starlight Express tells the story of a child`s train set magically coming to life, with the various engines competing to become the “Champion of the World”.  The underdog steam train, Rusty, battles against arch-rivals Greaseball and Electra - with little chance of winning until he is inspired by the “legend” of the Starlight Express, Poppa, ultimately taking the title, and winning the heart of first–class coach, Pearl.  Dig a bit deeper and it’s a love story - does the flashy cool “man” get the girl or does she choose the dependable type?

Ilkley Upstagers never cease to excite with such energy and vibrancy.  They put everything they’ve got into their shows.  Starlight Express was sheer brilliance to watch and the most amazing spectacle of colour, sound and movement.  

Every member of the cast played their part, adding their own detail and individuality to roles clearly defined by the excellent costumes and stunning make-up.  Each and every one of them had an amazing rapport with the audience.

There were outstanding performances from Greaseball (Dom Wolff), Electra, (Ash Stevenson) and Dustin (Alex Wright), each one vying to “outdo” the other on the race track. 

Dexter Riley played Rusty with just the right level of vulnerability - great acting, great voice with skating to match.  I was amazed to hear people gasp in the audience “why is everyone so mean to Rusty?”...we all felt so sorry for him!  Beautifully played Dexter – congratulations!

The four carriages, Duvay (Alicia Sharp), Buffy (Lily Normington), Dinah (Hattie Dibb) and Pearl (Emily Brook) looked and sounded superb, and in their opening number they ”worked it” with the air of a slick girl-band, with each character coming into their own as the show progressed.  Hattie Dibb’s U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D. was, for me, one of the highlights of the show and gave us the first standing ovation of the night!

Emily Brook was simply stunning and captured the part of Pearl to perfection, commanding the stage with her flawless acting, singing and dancing, and all this whilst effortlessly skating!  Every single nuance of the character was played out to the full without ever over doing it. She had beautiful vocals in her numbers “He`ll whistle at me”, “Make Up My Heart” and “I Do” with Dexter, which they both sang beautifully – there was such a belief in the relationship between the two.

Elliot Broadfoot was simply outstanding as Poppa McCoy.  He has superb stage presence – the delivery of his lines and songs is just unbelievable.  His big numbers just blew us all away – absolutely brilliant!  This young man, for sure, has a great “theatrical career” ahead of him.  Such talent.

The way in which the seating was arranged so that the skaters could move around easily around the Kings Hall was brilliantly designed.  The race scenes were exciting as the “action” took place right before our very eyes and the engines “zoomed” around the race track – with quite some speed!

This was a superb all round ensemble piece, with excellent cameo roles throughout – everyone gave 110% at all time - their energy never fizzled- at any point, even throughout the “Mega-mix”/bows at the end of the show, which had the whole audience on their feet,  clapping and joining in, creating the most amazing atmosphere!!!

Music Direction was flawless, in the capable hands of Phil Walsh, and the whole sound/lighting/effects were simply stunning!

Productions of this quality don`t happen overnight, they require time, planning and dedication, not just from the cast, but also the production team.  Director/Choreographer Paul Nowland, and Musical Director Phil Walsh, along with Producer John Clark must be congratulated for their hard work and dedication to what must at times, have caused perhaps one or two anxious moments throughout rehearsals and production week.

Well done to the company and all concerned for an absolutely outstanding production of ‘Starlight Express’

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