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Twelfth Night (Taub Musical)

Author: Jim Briscoe

Information

Date
14th December 2024
Society
Artz for All C.I.C
Venue
Lathom High School, Glenburn Road, Skelmersdale
Type of Production
Musical
Director
Joe Howard, Rachel McGrath and Joseph Lucas (Assistant)
Musical Director
Shane Hamill
Choreographer
Caitlin Porter-Bimpson & Sophie Clarke
Producer
Mark Ashton

Twelfth Night … a musical performed by Artz Centre at Lathom High School, Glenburn Road, Skelmersdale on Saturday 14th December 2024

Twelfth Night the musical ... another first for me!  Whenever I think of ‘Twelfth Night’, my mind always takes me to William Shakespeare’s wonderful romantic comedy play which he is believed to have been written around 1601/1602.  But in 2018, in conjunction and conceived with Kwame Kwei-Armah, Shaina Taub, an American actress, singer, musician and composer, then aged 30 years, sets about writing the lyrics and music to adapt Twelfth Night into a full-length musical comedy. Taub joyfully combines New Orleans Jazz, funk, R&B, music hall and disco into this musical. The storyline remains the same... Viola, our young heroine is washed up on the shores of Illyria after surviving a shipwreck. She believes her twin brother, Sebastian, who was sailing with her as died during the shipwreck. She disguises herself as a man and embarks on a secret life as a go between for two people. She gets caught up in a ‘love triangle’ where she experiences the chaos and humanity of unexpected love ... she is sent to court a countess but falls in love with a duke... and, whilst on Illyria, she discovers that everyone is hiding something!

Production Team ... wow, wow, wow what a challenge this must have been for not only this young cast, but for Joe Howard, Rachel McGrath (Director) and Joseph Lucas (Assistant Director).  Shakespeare isn’t for the faint hearted, for many it’s a challenge; the complexities of not only learning but understanding the language of Shakespeare is a challenge in itself ... add to that the characterisation of these complex characters ... plus, in this case, now having to learn the intricacies of this wonderful score which contained Jazz, Funk, R&B, Music Hall and Disco... but the Artz Centre took on this challenge and came out the other side with this wonderful/exciting/energy driven production, that if the applause throughout and at the end was anything to go by ... was appreciated and enjoyed by all present! Having said all that ... let’s not forget that musicals need dance and movement which was simple yet imaginative, allowing all those involved the opportunity to show off their skills which isn’t always easy when you probably have so many varying
levels of abilities ... so congrats to Caitlin Porter-Bimpson and Sophie Clarke on another job well done. Last but not least ... I think I’d be right in suggesting that this would probably have been the first occasion that many of these actors had performed with a ‘live music accompaniment’ provided by Shane Hamill (MD and Keyboard) and Karl Prunetti (Drums)... these guys did a great job... again be very proud, all be very proud of what you helped achieve!      

The Cast ... I can only think that this was a ‘complete team effort’ ... you can’t make something as unique as this work unless everyone involved is working toward a common cause!  The majority of the ‘principal cast’ were ‘double cast’ sharing their role with another who I will identify in (brackets) ...  my review will speak about the cast that I saw ... ‘Viola’ was Ava Phillips (Rosie O’Brien); ‘Countess Olivia’ – Minnie Grady (Chloe Swan); ‘Duke Orsino’ – Jensen Sharples (Leighton Kirwan); ‘Feste’ – Zara Winstanley (Lexie Kaill); ‘Malvolio’ – Kyle Rigby; ‘Sir Toby Belch’ – Richie Prunetti; ‘Maria’ – Abi Meadows; ‘Sir Andrew’ – Georgina Fisher; ‘Sebestian’ – Dylan Carr-Dickson; ‘Attendant’ – Isabella Stevens; ‘Antonio’ – Lola Ratcliffe (Vselena Karpovych); ‘Fabian’ – Kiki Waite (Charlotte Ineson); ‘Officers’ – Maddie Finegan, Nicole Carey; (Carys Glover),Wedding Singer’ – Ava Monoghan (Eden Morris); ‘Ilyrian Child’ – Mariia Kerpovych.   Ensemble:  Ben Chane, Daisy Fowler, Esme Hope Star Rasburn, Imogen Simpson, Isobel Mulligan, Jessica Jorden, Luna Bond, Lyla Dakin, Madeleine Lucas, Maeve Bahan, Micah Kay, Sally Travis, Sofia Winstanley and Zoe Lake. Having said that I thought that this was a team effort, we did have a number of ‘stand out’ performance and a ‘show stealer’ who I’d like to give ‘shout outs’ to now... MY ‘Showstealer’ I’m going with Kyle Rigby who gave us an amazing character in the form of the pompous, self-important ‘Malvolio’ whose name in Italian means ‘ill will’. Kyle nailed this role, energy driven, he made this role look far easier than it undoubtedly was whilst creating a great character. Great mannerisms and facial expressions, good dancer, loved the way he told a story through his song and its reprise Count Malvolio in Act 1 ... a perfect fit for this role, be proud Kyle. ‘Shout Outs’ - Ava Philips was impressive as our lead ‘Viola’. Ava created this intense, loyal courageous character, loved her mannerisms and her facial expressions. Ava is blessed with a good singing voice, loved the ‘duet’ in Act 2 with Olivia, although not sure of the song title. Be very proud Ava great job! We had an ensemble of servants etc that included ... Maria, Fabian, Festa (the fool), the Attendant played by Abi, Kiki, Zara and Bella... there were others whose names I didn’t quite catch and couldn’t identify ... but when they came together, they really did enhance the production... loved the way the worked together, again great mannerisms, great interaction with all the cast... be very proud!  My final ‘Shout Out’ goes to Minnie Grady who played Countess Olivia.  Minnie really did look the part, confident throughout, a perfect fit for the role ... loved the characterisation, worked well with everyone... well done Minnie, great job!   

Stage/Set/Tech ... one simple, yet effective set was used throughout. Created using a temporary scaffolding structure that provided a second level all of which draped in cloths and material was accessed using two sets of steps set toward the rear of the stage. Other movable theatre furniture was available and used to create and depict other areas and scenes.  Lighting and projection also enhanced and helped depict the scenes / mood ... all worked very well, affording the actors all the space, access and entry points they needed to ensure this production flowed without hindrance.  The sound, especially the personal mikes were a little hit and miss, nothing that detracted from the overall performance, but something that could be improved upon, although I do know the issues, obstacles and considerations involved within the school set up.

The Band ... was located on the upper level of the ‘scaffolding structure’ and proved to be a success. As previously stated, I think this was some of the cats first involvement with a ‘live’ band!  Shane Hamill (MD and Keyboard Player) were joined on the upper level by Karl Prunetti (Drums).  I thought the two-piece band did a good job in supporting the cast throughout and should be congratulated.

Costumes … modern day clothing was used and looked appropriate. Some brightly coloured outfits were used, mixed with modern looking suits, dresses and hats of various colours and guises did not look out of place.  ‘Props’ ... were good quality and used well which again enhanced the production.

To bring this review to its conclusion... as stated at the beginning, this was a challenge... a challenge accepted by cast/crew... all I can say, if you don’t challenge yourselves, you’ll never grow... I’m sure there’ll be plenty of growth after this production... really did think that everyone did a really good job and should be proud of what they achieved!

Thank you so much for inviting me to your production… it was a joy to be there and witness something that I’d never seen before… again, I said this before... this is further education for me!  Be very proud everyone involved … great learning curve for many I would suggest... great entertainment for us sat watching! Already looking forward to 2025 and seeing what challenges you face... hope you’ve had a great Christmas, see you all again in 2025!

Stay safe, Keep well
Stronger Together

Jim Briscoe
NODA NW
District 6 Rep

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