Summer Holiday

The musical ‘Summer Holiday’ was first produced in 1996 and is a very faithful adaptation of the quintessentially British 1963 film starring Cliff Richard, Una Stubbs and the Shadows amongst others.  Tonight EMUS production was an explosion of energy, enthusiasm and commitment, with some very nice detail touches that gave the audience a very entertaining and enjoyable time, which we all clearly enjoyed.
Summer Holiday centres on the friendships and budding relationships between four couples and both the girls (Chloe Hopcroft, Lucy Ledger, Lucy Judson and Sophie Robbins) and the boys (Hayden Fletcher, Thomas Judson, Dylan Singfield and Ethan Lee) brought exactly the right energy, naivety and excitement to their roles as their relationships grew through the evening.  One element that was a highlight through the night was the comic timing (both verbal and physical) from Lucy, Lucy and Chloe which was a pleasure to watch, and was held at exactly the right level so was not false in any way.  In addition, Sophie managed to portray the development of a patronised child to a growing adult with great success.  Hayden, Thomas, Dylan and Ethan were a very convincing ‘gang’ of friends and their interactions with each other, and the Girls, were again very ‘real’.
The other cast members (Charlie Pierson, Michelle Blair, Ethan Fletcher, Emily Marshall) and the various French, Greek, Italian and Wedding guests and soloists together with the very talented chorus all added to the production’s energy and comedy highlights.  I was especially taken with the ‘guitar hero’s’ that in true Shadows style grew in number and energy throughout the night to add interest in some of the longer scene changes – an idea that some non-youth groups I have seen could learn from …
These performances and the enjoyment/energy do not happen by accident and Chris Renshaw, Martin Lewis and Carol Lawson should be congratulated for what they have achieved with this production.  Chris kept the action moving at all times and brought out the comedy and character development to great effect.  Carol’s choreography was pitched just right for the large talented company and Martin and his 6 piece orchestra provided great support and clarity and were very sympathetic to the action on stage and the occasional cast mic drop outs did not impact on the performance in any way.
Particular mention and praise must be given to the technical elements and set design of this production.  The London Red Routemaster Bus was very very effective from its initial entrance and throughout the night.  The back projection of European travel (the bus driving on the right hand side of the road) and the use of other key props enabled the show to move very quickly from scene to scene without any long changes, which enhanced audience entertainment.

This is my first experience of an EMUS production and very enjoyable it was too - and I am already looking forward to next year’s 13 which will be a new Musical for me as well.  Congratulations all!

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