Stepping Out

I have, over my years of reviewing community theatre, watched several productions of Stepping Out in both its Play and Musical form and I always look forward to seeing the interpretation that a company brings to this ultimate feel-good production.

The story follows a group of varied individuals, all with their own motivations, fears and doubts who meet weekly at a dance class, mainly as a social occasion, who rise to the challenge of putting on a Tap Performance for the local community.  In many ways that is also the story of the Whitwell Players themselves who are clearly a group of great friends who always deliver a great show, full of enthusiasm and talent for the rest of their village community.

Tonight, Lauren Greenhaigh in the lead role of Mavis the ex-pro dancer, brought her character to life from the moment she appeared on stage.  Lauren made Mavis a very sympathetic and at times vulnerable figure as she attempted to bring out the best in her various pupils by understanding each of their individual needs.  Always giving encouragement and support to her class-members, hiding the tragedy of her own personal and professional life that had led her to have to teach amateurs to make ends meet and only occasionally losing patience with them…This was an exceptionally well judged performance from Lauren.  Also, as Mavis needs to be the one proficient Tap Dancer in the group, she also carried off this skill to great effect making her very believable as a dance teacher.

Another lovely interpretation came from Christina Goucher as the outwardly cantankerous Mrs Fraser. Christina had completely mastered the “sour” face with downturned mouth telegraphing, to cast and audience alike, what impact a lifetime of disappointment had had on her outlook on life.  Christina also managed to let the softer side of Mrs Fraser come through especially in some of her one-to-one moments with Mavis.  Another very well-judged performance that didn’t stray into caricature at any point in the production.

Zara Skidmore was just right as Andy, the timid woman trapped in a marriage with a bully of a husband.  You could see Andy grow as the challenge of training for the public Tap Show gave her something to focus on as an escape from her home life.  Sarah Reynold brought great energy, enthusiasm and warmth to her portrayal of Rose.  She was a bundle of energy in every scene which certainly helped the story move at pace whenever she was on stage.

Neil White was certainly in his element as Geoffrey the only male member of the dance class.  Reserved, timid, yet supportive of all his class-mates and willing to give it a go when the called upon to become a feature dancer in the public Tap Show performance.  Joanna Thorpe, as always, brough considerable energy and Sass to her delivery in the role of Maxine the successful businesswoman.  Always with a twinkle in her eye, she effortlessly brought the fun and ironic sarcasm to any situation without ever becoming cruel or hurtful.

Julie Cookson was simply perfect as the timid, birdlike Dorothy.  Her reactions as well as her actions were great to watch and she always enhanced any scene she was in without overplaying or upstaging her team mates.  Olivia Cookson was also on great form as Lynne the eager-to-please student nurse.  A fine understated performance which was also the case with Laura Barrett as Tracey and Sue Hilton as Susan.

Understated is not a description that would apply to Nic Pelham as Sylvia who was always chewing bubble gum in every scene and must have had a painful jaw by the end of every performance.  Nic is always fun to watch and the choice of costume brought out the flirty nature of Sylvia throughout the night perfectly as did Nic’s vocal and physical delivery which made me laugh out loud (for the right reason) on several occasions.

Vera the upwardly mobile, Gucci wearing “snob” was my highlight of the production.  Theresa Downing ensured that although on the surface Vera seemed to be vain “trophy wife”, she was actually over-compensating for low self-esteem and a need to be appreciated by her husband who didn’t seem to care.  Theresa was perfect as Vera from her need for expensive dance class clothing that just wasn’t quite right, to her moments of cold realisation that she was just not happy with her home life but was always trying to look on the bright side and convince herself that she was fulfilled.

Producing a musical with a high energy dance number on the hollow stage floor at the Whitwell Village Hall was quite a considerable challenge for Cast, Choreographer, MD and Director alike…  I was really not sure what to expect and what I was about to see and hear.  However, I should not have worried for the Cast, complete with Joel Medlam as a new dancer, carried off the final big number to great effect.   It was clear that the dancing in this show had been worked on for some time and to great effect.  I must congratulate every one of the team on this finale, speaking as an actor who sings a bit then you all were considerably more accomplished that I would have ever been!

A fun community show like this does not happen without considerable commitment from the production team so I will end by congratulating Paul Wood for bringing out a great set of characterisations from all of his talented cast with great diction throughout.  To Pete Lack for bringing out the vocal light and shade in all the musical numbers, both full cast and solo work and for his accompaniment throughout the production and to Catherine Cowley for her very sympathetic choreography that was pitched at just the right level to ensure that the cast had fun!  Costuming, sound and lighting were just right for the production so thanks to Gabriel Cassidy and Sam Skidmore for that.

A very enjoyable night of community theatre with a very friendly cast and crew, keeping live theatre live and well in their community

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