Summer Holiday

What an excellent time of the year for NMTC to put on the musical 'Summer Holiday' which is an adaptation for stage of the Cliff Richard hit film of 1963.

I expect to hear great singing from this company and was not disappointed and along with Martyn Knight's exhilerating choreography, the whole show came across as vital and refreshing.

This lighthearted look at a holiday taken by four mechanics on a converted London Transport bus details the adventures which befall them on the way - they offer a lift to a group of girl singers and agree to take them to Athens - and then give refuge to a stowaway boy who turns out to be a girl, an American pop star escaping from her overambitious mother. Pursued by their escapee's mother and her sidekick, the journey takes on more momentum.

It was great to see (and hear) this comparatively young company take to the stage. George Johnston stepped into the role of Don making it his own. He has a good stage presence and coped well with this demanding role. His travelling companions, Ben Stanton (Edwin), Harvey Morris (Steve) and Luke White (Cedric) added very positively to the production. The girls, Barbara the pop star , played by Katy McNaughtan with Ella Styles (Angie), Hannah Taylor (Alma) and Helen Kennedy (Mimsie) really worked their socks off too. Eleanor Digby gave a definitive performance as Barbara's pushy mother, Stella, with a superb comedy turn by Brett Hanson as the much put-upon sidekick, Jerry.

With one slight hitch  everthing backstage worked well. Costumes, lighting and sound were all good. And an indefatigable orchestra under the guidance of Graham Tear provided excellent support in all the musical numbers.

Altogether an enjoyable evening - just right as summer, hopefully, begins.

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