The Sorcerer
Information
- Date
- 8th May 2025
- Society
- Woodhouses Church Amateur Operatic Society
- Venue
- Woodhouses Church Hall
- Type of Production
- G&S
- Director
- Peter Shellard
- Musical Director
- Anne Butterworth
There is always a lovely warm welcome from Woodhouses Church Amateur Operatic Society as we enter into the church hall, the stage is closed with a table and chair set in front of the curtain to one side and some fixed set depicting a closed usable door in a house frontage with painted window in front of the curtain to the other side. The stage itself has a long ramp across the front of the stage which is used during the performance. Peter Shellard as Director and Anne Butterworth as Musical Director are a combined tour de force – what they don`t know about Gilbert and Sullivan productions isn`t worth knowing. The musical notes for the production come from one lone man playing a piano and at times a single flute is heard played by Anne Butterworth. There are no microphones used in this production so it is all down to the actors projection. I am pleased to say that I could hear all the dialogue and vocals, lighting was sympathetic to the scenes, I did enjoy the special effects from the teapot. Costumes were very fitting to the characters.
The cast for this production are no strangers to the stage and every single one of them showed confidence as they appeared. Isaac Brookes as Alexis showed a gentle lightness in his vocals and connected well with the audience, he was beautifully paired with the very talented Sasha Carrillo as Aline. She has a lovely stage presence and makes a strong connection with the audience , her intonations come alive with her facial expressions and arm movements. Oliver Hingston as Lord Marmaduke brought out the humour in his dialogue and was a good counter balance to Greta Shellard as Lady Sangazure , they both showed some strong vocals and were very adept at flirtatious side glancing. Rebecca Tonge as Constance gave some strong vocals and showed the audience some great facial expressions while making eyes at David Lawton as Dr Daly. Andrea Marshall (Mrs Partlett) is always a joy to watch as she always really engages with the scene, her facial expressions and timing are excellent. Mike Nash-Whitmore as The Notary showed some good projection both in vocals and dialogue, he kept pace well and kept a strong line in the harmonies. Adrian Davison as JW Wells showed some great facial expressions and true story telling skills in his performance, he had some strong vocals and made a good connection with the audience. The ensemble worked hard in this production and it was very clear that some real time and effort had gone into the choreography – the steps were fairly simple but executed in a good fashion.
Thank you for inviting me to your production of The Sorcerer both myself and my guest enjoyed it. I look forward to seeing you again soon.
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