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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Fringe 1997 Reviews (10)Shrewsbury School Two years ago Shrewsbury School won a Fringe First award for their Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. This year they returned with a new musical by the same team: book and lyrics by assistant director Alex Went and music by MD John Moore. It's a big production: a cast of 32, a 15-piece band, and a stage crew of 19. As such, and given the ages of the performers (from 13 to 18), it invites comparison with the NYMT's Aurelius and Young Pleasance's The Lightning Man. I would rate it as better than the former but not quite as good as the latter. If I could give it three and three-quarters stars, then I would! It's a long time since I read the H.G. Wells' book, but, if my memory serves me correctly, the play remains very faithful to the original and the songs fit well. The chorus singing was good, but just occasionally the odd soloist went a little off-key. The ensemble playing - something which schools are usually very good at - was strong, and the individual parts were never less than competently played. Strongest was Ed Burnside as Steadman, and Lucinda Worlock's maid, Mrs Jay, made a good impression. The show's greatest weakness was the choreography which was rather basic and - dare I say it? - a litle Isadora Duncan in places. The house was almost full, and certainly the audience thoroughly enjoyed the show, as I did. A Slice of Saturday Night ***** Youth Connection Youth Connection, a youth theatre from County Durham, burst onto the Southside stage with performances of almost professional standard - full of life and vitality, consistently in character and totally believable. I confess to being totally carried away by nostalgia. As I left, I heard one audience member say, "I knew these people". I can go one better than that - I was one of them! The Heather Brothers' script and songs capture the era perfectly: the 17 year old lads desperately trying to lose their virginity (and bragging that they had, even though they hadn't!); the girls fending them off, but being ever so tempted; the seedy Club A-Go-Go; drinking too much and being very, very sick... Oh boy, am I glad I don't have to go through that again! But nostalgia isn't enough to earn a show five stars, nor is a good script. It's the performances that count, and this group of fourteen gave it everything they had, even the five non-speaking, non-solo players. There is little dialogue in the show - it's mainly music - but what there is was delivered confidently and forcefully. Characterisation was spot-on and both chorus and solo singing was of a very high quality. I was mightily impressed! Company **** Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club I have to admit, right from the outset, that I am not a Sondheim fan. I can, however, see why people like his work so much. He is altogether much more heard-edged than Lloyd Webber, Bouilbil et al.; the music is more "difficult", and, in the case of Company, the scale of the plot is individual, set against an everyday background rather than the epic proportions of Les Mis, the mythic underpinning of Superstar, or the major upheavals of Miss Saigon. In many ways, Sondheim has created his own form of music theatre. Since Superstar, music theatre has become opera, doing what Verdi and Puccini did in their day - using upon the popular music of the time to tell their stories. Sondheim has gone in a different direction, using music at times almost like the chorus in a Greek Tragedy. Created originally from a set of short plays by George Furth, Company is an examination of relationships: in their relationships with the central character, Robert, five couples and three girls reveal themselves. The Cambridge ADC's performance was polished and professional. Characterisation was, perhaps, a shade stereotyped, but that, I suspect, is as much a fault of the script as of the actors. Ensemble playing was strong, but there were little weaknesses here and there in individuals, and the overall feel of the piece was slightly mannered - overtly theatrical is perhaps a better term - which is why it doesn't quite reach that extra star.
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