The Bakewell Bake Off

Just for a change, let me start this review at the end. And the end, as I travelled home after seeing ‘award winning’ MADAOS perform the Bakewell Bake Off, I could not seem to stop myself humming ‘The Circle of Life’. Bear with me friends, because there is reason to my madness - the very first time I went to see MADAOS as a newly appointed NODA Area Representative it was ‘Footloose’, and I was told not to expect too much! As it turned out, it remains to this day one of the best musicals I have seen … anywhere in this region by any Society. I gave it Best Musical and Best Production and… for the incredible balance of music and vocals which incorporated an implausibly large orchestra, I gave it the Best Technical production as well. I attended the MADAOS AGM after ‘Footloose’ and have tried to go every year since when I could. After that momentous production the Society was all-but out of cash and, as I left that first AGM five years ago, I gave them only a very small chance of survival. But once again expectations were exceeded as they spent four (or more) years carefully building up resources through their touring group, review shows (all of which I loved) and pantomimes, until they had the desire and the resource to put on another major musical. A full circle by any definition and as I took my seat for the Bakewell Bake Off, I was more than a little emotional! I saw this title last year in Downham having not heard of it at all before. It was delivered on that occasion on a grand scale and, whilst it will never be to everybody’s taste, I did find it great fun. The great town of Bakewell hold an annual Bake-Off style competition to find the best Bakewell recipe of the year and an odd assortment of bakers join local celebrity judges to decide the winner. To spice things up further this year, a representative of the EU is present to allocate protected status to the Bakewell Tart (or pudding) by recording a definitive recipe from the celebrity judges helped by one contestant each. There is romance, nepotism, misogynism, racism, skulduggery and a solo song for each performer (pretty much) as everything is ultimately resolved in a tidy fashion. The set (Marian, Michael and Ellie Savill, Clive Alexander, Tracey Bolt, Carol McEvoy, Claire Lilley and David Ketteringham with scenic design by Tracey Bolt) was everything it needed to be. It made good use of the limited space and whilst filling it admirably, things never looked over cluttered. Lighting and sound (Purple Box Audio & Visual - bought in) were both spot on as usual. I seem to be saying this a lot in reviews lately but ‘The Bakewell Bake Off’ doesn’t have a chorus. The parts vary in size but each one is pivotal to the plot, outcome and the comedy. In the smallest part (bolstering the singing I suspect) was the Director, Claire Lilley in the part of Betty Baton-Berg. It was little more than a cameo as I expect she had found bigger fish to fry along the way to this show opening. After that, it is difficult to say which part was bigger (or more important) than any other part so …. in no particular order… I enjoyed (when don’t I) Derek Wisbey as cross-dressing Henrietta Apfelstrudel, the German contestant. Perhaps not as confident with his song as some of the cast but I did remember what a difficult number his was from my last Bakewell encounter. New to me and I think new to MADAOS was Amy Carter as Sister Mary. A nice characterisation but … when she sang … BOOM! Completely awesome. A wonderful voice and a cracking performance. When I last saw the ‘Bake Off’ performed, Della-Marie Reed took the femme-fatale part of Tina Tartin, but I think I preferred her as the demure, Christmas loving, Holly Berry, the part she played this time. Miss Reed is a great singer and fine actress with a light touch with comedy, and those assets helped make her performance so memorable. I love Ellie Savill. I don’t need a reason, no one does. She is just such a nice person. She sings beautifully and as Flora Drizzle (closeted lesbian of this parish) she was delightful…. as usual. Frankly, this talented cast was full of March regulars, the absence of any single one from this production would have diminished it. That is certainly true of Barbara Pepper who turned in yet another benchmark performance as Local GP and Indian import, Dr Pradeepta Smith. The constant racist abrasion inflicted upon her by ‘Old School British’ judge and bully Hugh Dripp made me laugh out loud on three separate occasions. The insults were never offensive and always funny! The last two contestants were played by Eleanor Pettet as Tina Tartin, and Alex McAdam as Freddie Twist. Miss Tartin is somewhat sexually liberated and her dialogue a little suggestive, but Miss Pettet handled it beautifully … and looked every inch the strumpet of the village (and that is a compliment even if it doesn’t sound much like it!) Alex McAdam is a pretty fair actor who can do comedy well but can also do pathos with a steady hand. In addition, he possesses a semi-operatic voice that can steal any show. As part of a burgeoning love entanglement, Mr MacAdam was completely on top of his game delivering (postal pun intended) one of his best characterisations. As you can see … with no chorus, this is a difficult title to cast with so may lead characters, most of which have a song or at least part of one, together with some fiendishly complicated and beautiful harmonies. Unlike many musicals, the plot is actually important to bringing this musical home and it is the three local celebrity judges that hold it all together. With Jo Rix as Susie Sunflower, Hannah Furlong as Griselda Pratt-Dewhurst and supremely talented Martin Lightburn as racist philanderer (he does come good in the end) Hugh Dripp. They were required to slow, halt or accelerate the plot throughout, and all three of these great actors gave outstanding performances. Penultimate paragraph honours were never in doubt, even if there were many worthy contenders. I am a massive fan of Kerry Casey. She can do panto, singing, dancing, comedy and all the darker stuff, each with equal aplomb. As anchor-man (woman) and narrator, Victoria Sponge, Mrs Casey had to handle a mountain of dialogue leaving no pun unturned as she went. It was a joy to watch even if she gave herself a couple of frights early on. A sublime performance from a wonderful performer. As I left the March Community Centre, Claire Lilley said, “Don’t make me wait too long for the review” and Ellie Pettet was still laughing at this as I drove out of the car park! Madame Director, you never had anything to worry about. This presentation was second only to ‘Footloose’ amongst all the wonderful productions I have seen here in March. The singing was so very good, and the difficult harmonies sounded fantastic time after time, as the A list of the town (even Stuart Bettles got in on the act) brought home what is a deceptively difficult project. Mrs Lilley, your technical direction was completely flawless with every scene perfectly framed even if space was at a premium from time to time. A simple piano accompaniment was all that was required, and I was emotional again at the end as I was reunited with this show’s Musical Director, John Stevens, who had delivered such brilliance with ‘Footloose’ all those years ago. Choreography by Jo Rix was never going to be spectacular as a result of the available space (or lack of it) on the stage. But there was plenty of movement to go with the songs, all of which was tidy and entertaining. I may have a couple more shows to see before I hang up my medallion, but if I was looking for ultimate closure, I got it from all my very good friends at March. Great show guys, I miss you already!

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