The Sound Of Music

Stoke Youth has a fantastic reputation for putting on well directed and excellently performed shows. So, I knew I was in for an enjoyable evening when I walked through the doors of the Mitchell Memorial Theatre to watch their most recent offering.

The set was simple and the clever use of the three- sided  ‘toblerone’ shaped structures created everything the audience needed to transport them from the Austrian Hills to the inside of the Abbey and on to the splendour of the Von Trapp family home. The costumes worked well and I was very pleased to see that the young men wore suits that actually fitted well, so they didn’t look like boys in oversized men’s clothes!

The director, Paul Deakin, had obviously thought long and hard about how to get the show to flow and be of interest to an audience that may well have watched this story unfold many times before, particularly during the traditional Christmas re-runs! I loved the humour that was injected into the dialogue and I particularly liked the drama and thought provoking actions of Ralph and a newly arrived postulant being dressed in their new attire. That was a goose bump moment!

The singing of both principals and ensemble was assured and precise, all the cast handled some very tricky musical moments with confidence and ease. Jordan Hazrati, had a lovely natural singing voice that captured the innocence and sweetness of Maria perfectly. There was a lot of ‘playing to the audience’ throughout the show. I’m not sure if this was intentional or it just happened. However, for me it meant a little of the realism was lost and the connection between the characters was slightly obscured.

The Von Trapp children stole the show, as is so often the case.  I enjoyed the performance of Brigitta, played by Eleanor Meredith, so self-assured, so right for the character, and who couldn’t fall in love with Gretl, Darcy Spender. All the children were well directed, thoroughly rehearsed and a pleasure to watch. The interactions between them were so natural that you could quite well have believed they were from the same family!

Those playing the adults in the show did a great job. I, for one, find it difficult sometimes to watch youngsters play adult roles and it took me a while to get used to the relationship between Maria and Von Trapp.  He should be noticeably older and wiser than the new governess. However, that aside, Von Trapp seemed to grow in stature and maturity as the show progressed.  Elsa Schraeder stood out for me, a small part but so well played, natural and intuitive, well done Emma Sanders.

This was another successful show for Stoke Youth and the enthusiastic reaction of the audience was well deserved.

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