Wow! That's Variety

Due to the closure of The Sands Centre, StagedRight Youth Theatre were faced with no option but to restage and rehouse their production of Wow! That’s Variety! to their purpose built studio theatre in the heart of their rehearsal facilities in Shaddongate Mill.  It’s the first time I’ve seen a show performed here and David, Sallie and the StagedRight Team did a brilliant job of adapting the show to suit the space.

Variety is in the title, and boy variety we got – we were treated to a vast mix of styles and genres performed by the 80 strong cast, from Singin’ In The Rain to Sondheim, to the serious and the downright camp – there was something for everyone in the programme.

For 20 years, StagedRight has nurtured raw talent, and watching the matinee performance of Wow! That’s Variety! It was thrilling to see how much talent was on display, including some performers that you simply can’t take your eyes off when they are onstage because they just have ‘it’ -  Robbie Anson falls into that category.  Whether it was in the ensemble or leading a number, he looked so natural onstage and more importantly seemed like he was having a great time which radiates to those around him .  On The Street Where You Live is one of my favourite songs, and Robbie did a fantastic job of delivering it. Bravo.

When I flicked through the programme and saw the Whitney Houston classic ‘I Have Nothing’ listed, my initial thought was ‘how is this going to pan out!?’ A huge sing.. and as a trio?...hardly The Witches Of Eastwick - I thought.   I chuckled to myself as we applauded Zoe Nelson, Honor Lavery & Darielle Hogg following their performance, because that was exactly what we were treated too- a Witches Of Eastwick-esque treatment of a pop standard and it was absolutely perfect.  No movement, no gimmicks, no fancy costumes, just an exquisite three part vocal arrangement in which the harmonies were so sharp and polished, I forgot we were watching youth performers. Totally stunning. 

It wasn’t just singing we were treated too, there was some lovely spoken word performances peppered throughout the programme with Toby Johnston and Jess Gardiner providing the laughs with their take on a Mastermind Sketch very reminiscent of The Two Ronnies.  

Each member of StagedRight played their part in creating a staggering ‘wall of sound’ during the company numbers which was terribly impressive – giving real impact to the crystal clear choral singing led by Musical Director Alison Bedford.   There were only a couple of instances where the singing overpowered the backing tracks, and I felt the there could be a little more wiggle room to push the tracks a fraction higher.

Having had to restage a vast chunk of the choreography to fit a new performing space at relatively short notice, Choreographer Karen Woodruff did a marvellous job in creating lots of fun choreography. Considering the number of performers, the routines were well spaced across different levels and I never felt overwhelmed by the amount of people on stage.

It was a really tremendous afternoon at the StagedRight Studio. Whilst performing in a smaller Black Box setting didn’t detract a single ounce from my enjoyment, with The Sands Centre closed for an unknown amount of time, one can’t help wonder how long it will take those in high places to provide a larger alternate arts venue in Carlisle to enable more audience members to be able to see the staggering talent that is being cultivated in our local area.  I tip my hat to the production team and the cast for doing three shows a day in order to make sure the show goes on - and I’m already looking forward to the next one!

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