Whistle Down the Wind (Labey and Taylor)

An excellent production of this unusual show, which is less flashy than the Lloyd Webber-Steinman musical, with an appealing honesty. The company's telling of the ambiguous story was very powerful.

It was delightful to observe how thoroughly everyone knew all the words and (extremely difficult) music as well as the most effective moves. The northern accents were solid and consistent right from the start, in song and speech. Just remember to keep the energy going throughout all the dialogue, to avoid dropping the ends of sentences. The entire company was superb as they mimed behind one another or sang quietly under other people’s dialogue and then came in perfectly with the complex music. That thoughtful awareness of where the audience focus needs to be is true stagecraft, and a tribute to your musical director and directorial team. Accents were consistent, and people spoke slowly enough to keep their words audible – this was particularly commendable in the children: young people usually find it terribly difficult not to rush dialogue.

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