Summer Holiday

There were 35 young people in this production of which many were new to the stage. The Production team and helpers should all be commended for working with a large group. The young people were all smiling and clearly enjoyed their time on stage and those who continue will gain in confidence and their skills will improve with every show they do.

The set looked great with a big red bus and a small car in one of the first scenes. The scene changes worked well with smooth operation by the stage crew and the props were great. The aprons to the stage were used well as a hotel room on stage right and the café on stage left. The artwork by Victoria Conway was lovely with some stunning murals and attention to detail.

There were a few issues with microphones as Mimsie’s wasn’t working in her opening scene and there were some crackles later on. The lighting was good but some of the scenes in the bus were a bit dark or the performers didn‘t put themselves in the right places. The costumes were lovely and in keeping with the characters and period.

The choreography was kept simple so all the cast could perform it and it looked effective. The Musical Director had worked hard to produce melodies and harmonies with a cast where some were not natural singers.

Grace Elcock and Daniel Gordon have moved up from the chorus to play their first lead roles as Barbara and Don. Daniel had great vocals and held the stage well when on it. Grace did a lovely job on vocals, dance moves and an American accent for her character. With experience both these young performers will become less conscientious on stage which will hone their acting skills.

The Girls, Angie, Mimsie and Alma were well played by Robyn Valentine, Isabelle Coughlan and Lily Mangan respectively. They had nice vocals, dance moves and the harmonies were well executed.

The Boys James Birrell, Oliver Barlow and Josh Gordon had great chemistry between them and performed well together. Oliver was younger than the others but this aided the physical comedy in this part. With experience they will learn to slow down their dialogue and become more comfortable at performing but as first time supporting roles these were nice performances.

Jack Hobson did a good job as Jerry with some nice dry delivery of lines. He played opposite Lucy Grogan who put in a super performance as Stella with great comic timing in her acting skills and clear diction and accent.

It is always a pleasure to watch this society whose performers grow in skills due to the commitment of a young talented production team.

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