Show: Christmas Is Forever
Society: Centrestage Productions Youth Theatre
Venue: The Arch
Credits: Dave Corbett
Type: Sardines
Author: Meri Mackney
Performance Date: 15/12/2018
Christmas Is Forever
Meri Mackney | 15 Dec 2018 17:41pm
This production was by Centrestage Productions’ Junior section, aged 7 -11, with a number of the cast performing onstage for the first time. It was also a first visit for me to The Arch at Chandler’s Ford, a small but useful theatre space, boasting everything needed for a studio production, including a very warm welcome. The cast of thirty-two clearly enjoyed performing this musical spoof with a James Bond theme.
The plot follows Jane Blonde (Polly Rich) as she attempts to rescue Santa (Myles Sheldrake) who has been captured by the evil Scarymonger (Abigail Burfield, employing a wonderful villain laugh). We are conducted through the scenes by a trio of comic elves, played with enthusiasm by Aaron Lewis, Jemima Delaney and Elsie Bellows. Rich and Burfield both display fine singing voices and a composure onstage which suggests we will be seeing much more of them in the future. I was also impressed by Leo Blackledge as agent Y. There were many comic moments occasioned by his designation and that of agent U (Lucy Todd) and the cast made the most of the inevitable confusions. These were backed by the rest of the cast, changing from agents to elves and back again, with everyone managing, at least as far as I was aware, to arrive onstage at the right time in the right costume. The costumes were bright and colourful, where appropriate, and enlivened the scenes, which were played against a plain backdrop.
It is difficult manoeuvring a large cast in a small space and the weaknesses in the production were slightly overlong scene changes, leaving the oncoming cast standing waiting in the low light for the scene change music to finish, and some uncertainty about the words of the verses to the full cast numbers. I might have considered projecting them on to the back wall just to give the cast a bit more confidence handling a lot of lyrics and dance moves.
However, these were minor quibbles in a very enjoyable and creditable production of which director Mike Mullen should be justifiably proud. My granddaughter and I had a most entertaining afternoon.
- : admin
- : 15/12/2018