Sunshine on Leith

This show is a step away from the usual mainstream style of show that LAODS has historically produced and I have to say this was not one step too far. As Steph Stewart, President said in her programme notes "This was an incredibly important step for the Society, pushing the boundaries but nonetheless allowing us to demonstarte our ability to adapt to new styles and ideas." The new production team of Kerry Briggs and Steve Lemmon did just that and the energy and enthusiasm shown by the cast was evident throughout this production. As is common with a lot of societies there is a lack of men and LAODS coped with that well utilising the ladies of the company in areas where in the modern world would not seem out of place, such as in the opening number.

There was no set or scenery to speak of and the company made the scenes speak for themselves with the dialogue, music and choreography doing the talking.

The music in this show is fairly well know in the "pop"sense and it was interesting to see how this was interpreted into the story line with some of them becoming excellent ensemble numbers. The choreography was well done and the cast certainly showed how they enjoyed themselves.

The main characters were all excellent and the three principal pairings of Ieuan Keir and Leona Evans (Davy and Yvonne), Glen Cavers and Rebecca Jackson (Ally and Liz) and Bob McLure and Gilly Fraser ( Rab and Jean) were all superbly cast and well matched.

They were all cast well in the role they played and the musical harmonies came across superbly. I particularly liked the trio of Rab, Davy and Ally in Life with You. There was good strong voices from them all in all of the musical numbers.

Joe Donnison as Young Rab, Ellie Rose Smith as Young Jean and Rebecca Hall as Margaret were also well matched and their cameo roles in the "flashbacks" was well done.

It is an accolade to the company that the audience enjoyed themselves as was evident by the resounding applause at the finale.

Great Show Langholm, keep it up ! Thank you for an excellent evenings entertainment and now that this show is Over and Done With I look forward to the next one.

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