The Addams Family

The large theatre at Mark Rutherford school is basically divided into two lengthways, half for the raked seating and half for the flat floor stage, providing a very large acting area and thus ideally suited for large scale productions with very large casts. And boy, did this show take advantage of that in some spectacular fashion! This was a feast for the eyes of costumes and choreography. It also had input from four directors, so an awful lot of different ideas and thought had gone into it.

The stage under the management of Jess O’Brien was divided into two parts. To stage right and taking up about at least a quarter was the twenty-piece orchestra. The rest was basically the Addams’ family home.  To the rear was a large double-sided staircase leading to the central exit to the library. Various backcloths were pulled across in front of it to depict the various other scenes. The whole set was hired from Scenery Solutions. Most of the scenes were actually depicted with the use of furniture, such as a wonderful Crypt out of which the Addams family relatives emerged, a set of iron railings to depict the eerie outside of the family estate. And a very large dining table. And not to forget a very large Moon! All scenery changes were made by the very well drilled cast.

The very atmospheric lighting designed by Mr A McKenzie and operated by Mrs G Farnsworth certainly did what it says on the ‘spooky’ tin – couldn’t fault it. Sound in this theatre is exceptionally good and for once my aging ears didn’t struggle for a moment with all stage mics in full working order and the balance between the vocals and the orchestra was absolutely perfect. Excellent job by Mr J Doughty. All Am Dram groups should pay the school a visit to see how it should be done.

The costumes in this production really were something else. With the concept design by Mrs G Farnsworth and Ms J Saunders and then designed and created by the students themselves, these Ghosts and Ghouls in their many imaginative versions were a fashion designers’ trip through the macabre. Apparently, drama isn’t the only subject at which this school excels!

Special mention must be made of the Makeup team. They really did have some imagination and the end result was absolutely superb and would have frightened anybody out of a graveyard! Well done Mrs E Mawer, Andria Bridge, Ava Crearer, Rhniem Asfahani, Izzy Jakes, Veronica Vargas, Macie Dwyer, Anya Pilling, Minnie Maslen, Izzy Pontefract, Mazlifa Ahmed and Anusha Khan. Great job, you certainly deserve your own full page in the programme.

The excellent Orchestra under the musical direction of Mr C Phelps and Mr A. Sobiechowski was mixture of students, staff and the odd familiar professional face or two from musicals we have seen from many Bedfordshire musical societies over the years. A very good mix which would have given the students a good taste of what these pros do week in week out. Conducted by Mr Sobiechowski, First Keyboard was Andrew Longland-Meech with Ava Lussmann, First Violin Mr Fraser, with Leah Clark, Suki Ebbs, Oliver Girvan, Thakini Kaneshan and Aditi Rao. Flute: Alex Bourne, Elsie Lee and Emerson Tucker, Saxophone: Jamie Robertson, Trumpet: Aiden Moore, Baritone: Lizzie Maples, Cello: Nelly Palmer, Bass: Morgan Tucker, Guitar: Daniel Orr, and Percussion: Max Alcock, Jude Warehand.  Very professional job guys!

The lead actors in this show were exceptional well cast. Finley Shuttleworth as Gomez is a revelation, his singing voice alone is worth the ticket price. Add in his characterisation, confidence, stage presence and empathy and, if he wants to go down that road and of course gets the breaks and luck needed, there is a star in the making if ever I saw one. A class act! However, he certainly didn’t leave Emily Laird playing Morticia in his wake, whose strong, mature performance matched him perfectly. So strong were these parts you totally forgot these middle-aged parents were actually being playing by teenagers.

Wednesday played by Keira Rolfe, again just nailed this quirky, strong, determined, impetuous teenager.  Riley McGrath as Fester was again excellent, loved his falling in love with the moon scene. And whoever came up with the idea of holding it up to a spotlight so its half-lit appearance actually looked like the real moon was a genius moment! Harry Farnsworth certainly held his own amongst his older contemporaries with his cheeky chappie performance of Pugsley, the masochistic youngster strapped to a rack. One of my favourite performances has to be Rodrigo Strazds as Lurch, whose deadpan expression accompanied by the way he used that incredible deep baritone voice was comic genius. And of course, there was the eccentric grandma played by Esmé Yarrow providing some spooky laughs.

On the Beineke family side lovesick Lucus, played by Olly Slater sparred with Wednesday, but you know he was never going to be in charge of that relationship.  Anthony Hubball played Mal as the solid but bemused and then humiliated husband. Jasmine Miley as Alice provided one of the highlights with her fine drunken performance of ‘Waiting,’ generating huge applause from the audience as she passes out on the dining table.

What really made this version a cut above the average was the choreography by Mrs Z. Wells, Mrs K. Taylor and Emily Belcher, For such a large cast this was a very well drilled outfit of Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ancestors with some totally in time complicated routines, cleverly choreographed with a lot of coordinated upper body moves, which not only looked good but also utilized space on a crowded stage to perfection. Very well thought out.

This is a very complicated bitty musical and not easy to stage, but the input of the four directors paid off, cumulating in a Avery smooth, well-acted and entertaining show. So congratulations to Mrs G Farnsworth, Mr A McKenzie, Miss L Day and Mrs C. Purcell and your cast and crew. A thoroughly enjoyable show. Bedford is lucky to have school capable of this level of achievement in performing arts.

Just one small complaint – can you please increase the size of the font in the programme! Aging NODA reps can’t read it in the gloom of a theatre.

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