The Band

The Musical Theatre Company were back on stage at Northwich Memorial Court with their production of ‘The Band’, which was directed by Ben Ireson. Ben had a clear vision for this production, creating a concert setting, which worked fantastically well. Having a catwalk from the stage into the auditorium instantly transported the audience to a concert, and this was utilised well, especially in the concert elements of the production. The audience certainly felt like they were at a concert, especially at the ending of the production where they were invited to dance and sing along, which they did enthusiastically. A huge video wall dominated the back of the stage, transporting the audience to various locations. The video wall was made up of two levels, allowing the cast to walk across. This allowed Ben to be creative with the staging, such as the bus and plane journey. Both needed precision is positioning to get the desired effect across to the audience, which were pretty much perfect. The use of film was used well, with the Younger Girls leaving the concert shown through film. An inventive touch. The musicians were based stage left in their own recording studio, which was a great touch. Young Rachel’s bedroom was situated stage right, which allowed The Boys to have a fun first entrance (how long was Daniel under the bed for?!). Trucks were brought on as well for other scenes, which helped to establish location, and allowed some fun entrances such as The Boys coming out of the lockers. Ben’s direction was secure throughout and he used the space well. The costumes were great throughout. The Boys appeared in a variety of stereotypical boyband outfits. It was nice to see each of the girls had a signature colour, which then was reflected in their older version’s costume, allowing the audience to make the link between younger and older characters. The costumes for the concert were suitably lavish and over-the-top

Michael J Scott was the musical director for this production, and led the musicians well through the back catalogue of Take That songs. The vocals from the cast, especially The Boys, were strong, with nice harmonies throughout.

Choreography came from Sophie Meggitt and Kate Scanlan. The choreography was fun and inspired by the nineties. It was full on, and the cast attacked the choreography energetically

Technical elements were of a high quality throughout this production. The sound balance between the musicians and cast was very good. The lighting design was equally as good, especially in the concert moments of the production. The video design was exemplary. TMTC always push the boundaries in terms of incorporating video design into their productions, and the video design in this production was nothing short of extraordinary. Congratulations to Jonathan Hall for his outstanding work here.

The Boys were played by Toby Abbott, Oliver Ball, Jonathan Hall, Joel Merry, and Daniel Willson. They created a cohesive unit and were every inch The Band. They commanded the stage, punctuating the scenes with songs. They were almost like a Greek chorus, appearing in scenes and commenting on the story through song. The tight harmonies were performed well, and they did well with the choreography, especially Daniel.

The younger girls were played by Ella Carr (Young Rachel), Vic Carney (Young Zoe), Bethan Granger (Young Claire), Isabella Harrison (Young Heather), and Georgina Crank (Debbie). They, again, created a cohesive unit. They created believable relationships, and it was great to see their individual characters develop.

The older girls were played by Hannah Young (Older Rachel), Vicki Wood (Older Zoe), Alison Brander (Older Claire), and Amy Harvey (Older Heather). They portrayed these characters well, keeping the essence of their younger selves, whilst adding life experience to their performances.

Thomas Frith put in a solid performance as Jeff, Older Rachel’s husband. He was sincere in his performance, especially after the return back home. The reunion at the airport was nicely played.

Andy Dolan put in a great comic performance as Dave, appearing in various iterations throughout the production. Andy displayed a great sense of comedy, and had a great line delivery.

The ensemble were very good throughout, playing high schoolers, airport staff, tourists, concert performers, and even statues! They were committed to their roles throughout, and added greatly to the crowd scenes.

Overall, this was a very good production. It was a visual delight, there was a clear vision from Ben that was fully realised, and a cast that delivered high energy performances. It was a proper guilty pleasure!

A big thank you to everyone at The Musical Theatre Company for their kind invite and their hospitality.

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