The Show

Tonight, I had the great pleasure in watching ‘The Show’ by Trinity AOS.  ‘The Show’ was a review show to raise funds for the society and their chosen charity; The Samaritans.  The concept of ‘The Show’ was that the society performed musical excerpts from six existing musicals/films; three before the interval and three afterwards.  From the programme, this society have only been rehearsing for eight weeks (with virtually no budget).  It is hard to believe that so little rehearsal was put into such a well-produced professional production!

The set was very minimalistic; having six white portable trucks and a white backdrop/wall - but was used to a great advantage.  It enabled the director(s) to have video projections to set the tone, location and add messages for the audience.  The use of projections was outstanding.  I loved the choices that each song and section had.  It enabled the audience to fully engage with the location and tone of the song whilst leaving the stage bare for the large cast to perform.  I loved the colours that were used in each powerpoint to introduce the sections, and how the same colours were used in the programme.  Whoever produced these projections and the programme needs a special mention.

Lighting was by Nick Walker.  Overall the lighting was good.  There were a few sporadic parts in the show when some of the cast were not fully lit, but I suspect this is the cast not stepping into the light rather than being fully lit.  The choice of overhead lighting during Bohemian Rhapsody didn’t quite work either – I felt it would’ve been better, and funnier, to have the four groups with torches to up-light their faces.  Again, this isn’t really reflective of Nick Walker, more of a directorial observation.

Tom Maurice was in charge of sound.  For me, there was a great blend between the live band, the cast and the audience.  I could hear every vocalist clearly and although some of the cast on stage were not mic’d I could still hear the cast/chorus from the audience.  I suspect the others were backstage singing in a booth?

Richard Tadman was at the helm of the live band.  I was extremely upset that the audience were not treated to watching the band.  I personally would’ve got rid of the catwalk and had the band playing in the pit.  Whilst I appreciate that this would probably impact negatively on sound and acoustics, it would’ve enabled the audience to visually see how hard the band worked throughout this show.  I loved the band – they sounded great and were suitably sympathetic in the slower and softer numbers and suitably energetic in the rockier numbers.  

The choreographer for this show was by Liv Riseley.  For the majority of the show I loved the choreography.  It was used greatly to tell the stories of what the vocalists were singing.  A particular highlight was the pas-de-deux during the Bat Out of Hell section.  At times, some of the choreography was contrasting to the action on stage.  Sometimes I liked this: (The tap routine in Bat Out of Hell), but at times it took away from the action.  This was apparent when two of the vocalists were on the motorbike during Bat Out of Hell Section.  The video projection showed that the bike was driving down the highway, at speed.  Suddenly, the dancers (and other vocalists) were standing next to the bike and dancing beside it.  This took away from the concept of the travelling bike.  Despite this, I have to say that the group of dancers were excellent.  I loved their energy and enthusiasm.   The audience certainly loved the choreography during the Rocky Horror section – dancing in the aisles to the timewarp!

The directors for this show were Sara Hawley and Simon Matthews.  Even though I loved the show tonight, I felt that it lacked clear vision or a concept.  Whilst I loved the video projections and how they were used to set the scene and tone for each song and section, I felt that this show needed either an overall theme, a theme for each individual section or a through storyline.  For example, the overall theme could’ve been tied into their chosen charity (The Samaritan’s).  The Dear Evan Hansen section certainly did, and this worked extremely well.  Perhaps each section’s theme could’ve been a colour?  White (Peace) for Dear Evan Hansen, Red (Bat Out of Hell), Black (We Will Rock You etc and that the costumes and lighting could’ve reflected this?

I also felt that the ordering of the sections was a little disjointed.  I personally would’ve started the show with The Greatest Show section and would’ve had the Rock Sections in the first half to show how society has become wild and free and that people are living on the edge and experimenting with life.  Finishing the show with Hair and Dear Evan Hansen, would’ve shown that we sometimes need to take a step back and reflect and focus on our mental health and well-being.  The Dear Evan Hansen section was so strong, and the video projections so good, that this needed to be the final piece that the audience were treated to; with a clear message at the end to speak out and ask for help.

All of this is entirely my own opinion and I certainly do not want to detract from the brilliant show that we were treated to tonight.  ‘The Show’ was visually and vocally brilliant.  If this is what Trinty AOS can produce in eight weeks, then I would love to see what they can produce with a budget and a proper rehearsal process. 

It would be very unfair to me to single out anyone individually as this was very much an ensemble show.  Some of the sections were stronger than others.  I personally loved the ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Bat Out of Hell’ sections; with the Dear Evan Hansen section being the highlight for me.  The vocalists were excellent, and the dancing was brilliant.  Overall, ‘The Show’ was a visual and vocal delight - There was a tremendous amount of talent on stage tonight and I cannot wait to return to see their next production of Legally Blonde in March 2019. 

https://www.samaritans.org

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