The Witches of Eastwick

I have to admit to a perhaps embarrassing confession before I begin this show report, namely that I had never seen 'The Witches of Eastwick', nor even the film the show is based on before my visit to Burnley Mechanics theatre. Approaching an unfamiliar show with fresh eyes - and ears! - was a refreshing challenge and I knew that if any society could do justice to an unfamiliar show, BLOS would be the one to do it. And up to a point, I was right...

As this is a show with three witches, I'm sure you'll forgive the rather tortured reference to 'Macbeth' when I say that there were long stretches of the show where I did wonder if this was 'a tale... full of sound and fury, signifying nothing' but as always with Burnley LightOpera Society, the sumptuous production managed to paper over many of the show's inherent shortcomings.

The story centres around the arrival of a mysterious, devilish stranger to a typical Small Town American community who with a certain amount of jiggery - and plenty of  pokery-creates a stir in the town, managing to transform the lives of the titular three 'witches' in the process. Throw in a handy framing device of egret awareness (that's right – I did say egret, as in the birds...) and the well-worn -and by now over familiar - dig at 'Apple Pie and Picket Fence Small Town USA', a trio of Peter Pan flying wires and what seemed to be the North West's quota of stage hazer for the next decade, and there you have it. As always however, BLOS under the peerless direction of Anthony Williams managed to turn this weak and airy nonsense into something approaching theatrical stardust.

Vicki Stott, Leanne Tempest and Sophie Lord were simply superb as the three Witches ofEastwick, each imbuing their character with life and colour, vocally magnificent individually and coming together to create a kind of musical magic when singing one trio after another. I had some doubts as to the direction the show was heading in initially, as their first scenes together seemed rather garbled and rushed: I missed a good chunk of what was happening at the outset of the show as the whip-crack delivery flew over my head before I had a chance to register what was being said. Nevertheless, the sumptuous and impressive vocal display from all three leading ladies more than made up for the initial bewilderment: a really very impressive musical achievement here. Ian Bennett was a lively and likeable Darryl Van Horne - the Devil himself don't you know - and really had full command of the stage on his every appearance. Perhaps a little more cute and cuddly than carnal, Ian's Darryl Van Horne was clearly played more for likeable laughs than dark devilish drama but the effect clearly won the audience over to the dark side: a strong performance here too. For me however, it was the supporting roles which had the greatest impact in the show: Joanne Gill as Felicia Gabriel was simply wonderful: embracing the ridiculousness of the whole affair and taking the character by the throat with both hands, Joanne's Felicia became a really memorable part of the show. Geoff Baron as hen-pecked Clyde Gabriel was also quite excellent, as always adding that something extra to what could easily have been a slight and overlooked supporting role. Joanne and Geoff both managed to take the whole thing seriously enough to make it work, while at the same time definitely having half a tongue in their cheek at the sheer ridiculousness of the show. Adam Whittle and Jenny Gill as would-be sweethearts Michael and Jennifer also gave great value with a number of actually quite affecting scenes together, really bringing their characters to life. Just about stealing the show from everyone else however, David Morrisroe as a turban wearing acolyte of the devilish Van Horne had the audience erupting into laughter with his one and only line towards the end of the show: a surreal and hilarious moment to savour!   Special mention must also go to Tori Green whose vivacity and charm always shines a beneficial light on any production, this time while wearing a bizarre 'Hairspray'-type wig. Well done to all the performers on stage for breathing life into their characters whether large or small.

Musically, the production managed to make a great deal of a rather average score. Jonathan Chalker led a great orchestra which sounded fantastic and had clearly worked hard to get the best from the cast: the three 'Witches' in' particular sounded great with some excellent three part harmony being musical high points of the show. For long stretches of the show however, the score seemed to consist of acres of meandering recitative which threatened to break out into a tune at any moment, just before stopping altogether. Chorus routines were as pin-sharp and impressive as one would expect from Anthony Williams and were real high-points of the production: in a soufflé of nonsense such as 'The Witches of Eastwick' it is the attention to detail that really makes the show worthwhile and here as always BLOS excelled. Staging and special effects were in the capable of Ken Hardwick and David 'Wally' Walton and the sound balance was faultless - again, as always with BLOS, a peerless display of theatrical perfection.

My congratulations to all involved in the production – a sterling job all round. As a theatrical experience, the show 'Witches of Eastwick' could not possibly have had a better treatment on stage: that it didn't happen to be my cup of tea is neither here nor there. That it didn't seem to be the cup of tea of a rather large chunk of the audience either (maybe it was just the make-up of the audience on the evening I happened to be there but I did hear an usually inordinate amount of half-hearted grumbling of the 'damning with faint praise' variety in the bus queue after the show) did seem to be something of a concern however. I'm certainly not suggesting that every show can please everybody - and it probably isn't my place to mention it in what is after all a theatrical review and let's be honest, who am I to attempt to offer my opinions anyway?! - But when one cares deeply for a long running society who has always produced shows of the very highest quality, I think it's worth mentioning. To sum up, 'The Witches of Eastwick' was a superbly produced show, cast to perfection, directed with verve and intelligence. Burnley Light Opera have done it again: my sincere thanks go to everyone involved for an exceedingly warm welcome and a thoroughly entertaining evening.

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