Stepping Out

The sets here are made in house and as always looked great and worked well with minimum changes of scenes.  A few scenes were played in front of the tabs reducing the wait time between scenes and making the play flow. The lighting plot worked well and the costumes were in keeping with the characters.

The actors were not miked and some of the cast needed to project more especially with the scenes where actors were hidden by each other as it was sometimes difficult to hear or see who was speaking. This was a blocking issue and because Rebecca the Director was also on stage it requires someone at rehearsals to sit in different seats in the auditorium to check for things the Director when also playing will not see. Because of this and sometimes rushed dialogue a number of comic lines early on were missed but what started a little rushed soon settled into some lovely performances and delivery of lines.

The cast had worked hard on the dancing so that by the end the tap number looked very good. I do think this had an effect on the characterisation though as some of the individuals stories were not as touching as they could have been. The joy with this script is how as the play progresses you start to realise why each character is the way they are and feel an empathy or sympathy for them. The cast had worked hard as a team and I’m sure from the look of how they supported each other on stage they had an enjoyable if not hard working rehearsal period.

Rebecca Szabo led the cast well as Mavis the teacher of the classes and was ably supported by the experienced Lesley Dowey who performed really well as Mrs Fraser. Playing drunk can be difficult but Lesley pulled this off.

Nathan Simpson as the only guy in the cast performed well maintaining his characterisation throughout especially when teased and tormented by the gobby Sylvia and Rose played respectively by Carole Griffiths and Michelle Cust (neither of which had projection issues).

There were some nice comic touches from each of the performers and the audience appreciated the stretches and biking gear worn by Lauren Copp as Dorothy, the stuck up airs and graces of Diane Campbell as Vera and Carole Griffiths as Sylvia who wore some colourful costumes and delivered some comic dialogue.

Overall this is a hard show to stage with much time needed on both acting and dancing. The society did well to pull it off and learn a new skill with the tap along the way. Thank you for a lovely evening’s entertainment and well done on bringing new young actors through the ranks.

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