Young Frankenstein

Vale Royal Musical Theatre made a return to the stage with their production of ‘Young Frankenstein’, based on the Mel Brooks film of the same name. There was some good direction from Becky Benson (making her directorial debut). Becky had obviously thought about all the different aspects of theatre in creating this production. The groupings of actors on stage were good and the pace of the piece was good throughout. Becky had thought of ways to keep the pace going, with the journey to the laboratory taking place through the audience to allow the scene change to take place. There were some moments where the impact was lost due to the way it was staged, for example when Igor got the brain. With the graveyard being set off the stage and in the auditorium, the audience may have missed what was happening. Stage management were kept busy throughout with lots of scene changes. They coped well, with the majority of scene changes being done efficiently. Costumes were good throughout. The costuming of Ziggy seemed to jar against the villagers costumes, It seemed more modern than the traditional costumes of the ensemble.

The musical director for this production was Sally Ross. The band played well throughout, and were sympathetic to the performers on stage. There could have been some moments where the band could have played a little longer just to cover some of the scene changes that were taking place.

Amy Weedall choreographed the production. There were lots of different types of dance in the production, including a tap number, which really tested the ensemble. On the whole, it was executed well. There were moments where some of the cast were unsure on movements.

The lighting design was good and was used well to create atmosphere. The sound balance throughout seemed to cause issues. There were times where the band was louder than the performers, times where mics were cued late or not turned on at all. The sound effects that were used during the production were well used and executed well.

Ben Evans-Clarke played the lead, Frederick Frankenstein. Ben seemed to suffer the most from the sound balance, with his mic not turned on at moments and popping every time he screamed. Ben’s performance was good, with a good singing voice. He was suitably funny throughout, with some great mannerisms.

James Bebbington played Igor. The characterisation was really good as the hunchbacked side-kick. The dead pan delivery was great, but it did mean that some of the jokes did not land as well as they could. There appeared to be some tentativeness with some of the choreography.

Katy Proudman played Inga. This was a committed performance throughout from Katy. Katy really threw herself into the role, delivering many comedic moments. There did seem to be some tentativeness with when to come in with the songs, but this did not detract from a good performance.

Lou Steggals played the stoic Frau Blucher. This was a great performance from Lou. Some great comedic timing and a very good singing voice. The accent was sustained throughout. ‘He Vas My Boyfriend’ was a great comic number, delivered well by Lou.

Joe Moore played The Monster. Joe’s physicality was great for this role, with some great facial expressions.  There was a great contrast between the old and new Monster, which added to the comedy further.

Donna Martin played Elizabeth Benning. Donna made a good attempt at bringing this character to life. Donna sustained the accent throughout. More humour could have been found in the scene with Donna and Joe.

Tracey Stothard played Inspector Kemp. There seemed to be some hesitancy in Tracey’s performance, but generally it was a good performance. It was obvious that Tracey had really immersed herself into the character.

Kim Billington played Ziggy. Kim’s performance didn’t really stand out from the rest of the ensemble – there could have been more made of the character to distinguish the role from the rest of the ensemble, especially as Ziggy is supposed to be the village idiot.

Oliver Bancroft played The Hermit. This was a very good comedic role from Oliver. His scene with Joe was particularly funny. It was a confident and secure performance.

Paul Harvey played Victor von Frankenstein/Count Dracula. Two cameo roles from Paul, which were played well. Count Dracula seemed to get lost with everything that was going on in the final scene, which meant that the humour was lost from it.

The ensemble played an active part throughout. There appeared to be some tentativeness with the singing and choreography. Perhaps additional rehearsals would have helped the ensemble be more secure in both of these aspects to further enhance the overall production.

Overall, there were some good aspects of this production. The band was good and there were some good performances throughout. What was lovely to see was people of different ages taking part in a hobby that they enjoy doing.

Thank you for your kind invite and hospitality. All the best with your next production, ‘Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Pigs’, in November.

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