A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM

Offspringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

14.03.17

Shakespeare 4 Kidz has been sugar-coating the Bard for years, and their shows have become increasingly popular with youth groups like Offspringers.

As recent Dreams go, Sarah Dodsworth's production is agreeably traditional in tone. Pretty fairies, Athenian columns, stylish white trees. Excellent costumes, and some striking stage pictures: the back-lit bubbles, the top-lit quartet with the fairies thronging round their feet. The band – in a bower of their own – accompanies the Disney-ish songs [MD Kate Gowen]. The plot – arranged marriage and all – survives more or less intact, and the Indian Boy [Dominic Bushell] is given a whole production number for his back-story. Some of the “rhymes from yesterday” are preserved too, and the original verse for the scene and the song for Bluebell [Charlotte Golden] and Rose Gowen's pert Puck is one of the best moments.

A huge cast – some of them very small sprites – includes the Tipsy Bacchanals and the [thrice] three Muses, and some very promising performances. Ore Kane is an imposing Duke Theseus, Jack Funnell a mischievous Lysander, with Charlotte Podd his Hermia. The mechanicals, with their “tacky play”, all give splendidly engaging performances – Matt Scott is the wittiest weaver in town, Max Eagle a bossy Quince, with Esther Hemmings a lovely Lion, Abbie Gansbuehler the tinker, Amy Smethurst the tailor and James Birchmore doing some serious breast-imbruing as Thisbe.

Lively movement, impressive ensemble work, and a shared sense of fun for this, the most accessible of Shakepeare's comedies. Very much enjoyed by the first- night audience. But, if the work is to appeal to a public beyond friends and family, every one of these enthusiastic actors needs to remember the importance of concentration and staying in character.

BUGSY MALONE

BUGSY MALONE

OffSpringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

15.03.16

Hard not to love Bugsy Malone. Catchy Twenties-type tunes, cute gang violence.
Its USP of course is that hoodlums and hoofers alike are all played by children, making it a good choice for OffSpringers.
Some veterans in the large cast, but loads of novices, too, which leads to some inconsistency in style, some inaudibility. But plenty to enjoy, especially the dance routines, in splendid period costumes.
In the title role, Matt Scott has an easy, laid-back charm, leading us through the story. Rose Gowen is an excellent Blousey Brown, a strong woman holding her own amongst the gangsters; Lizzy Newsome makes an imposing Tallulah.
No boys among the “namby-pamby dancers”, but plenty of opportunities for the girls amongst the henchmen of Sam and Dan [Devran Arslan and Aaron Bell], notably Sicily Riordan's lovely Knuckles. Ore Kane is the frustrated Fred Astaire Fizzy.
Loads of talent in the smaller roles, too: Max Eagle's Lieutenant O'Dreary, Daisy Dodsworth's Lena, in a gorgeous gown, Sam Aldwinkle's priceless Marbini and many more.
The staging uses the space well – band at the back, with lovely period music stands, the bar and the bookshop to one side, leaving plenty of room for the production numbers, choreographed by Helen Arber. The Down and Outs, the dressing-room mirrors, the boxers all very effective. I liked the violin dirge for the stiffs – Tegan Beckett – and "cellist" Tiegan Crisp for a few surreal seconds disguised as a standard lamp.
And splurge galore from the opening minutes, including the best show-down shoot-out ever, with the packed audience targeted by tin-foil ribbons.

Bugsy Malone is directed for OffSpringers by Fiona Lipscomb, with Kate Gowen the MD.

THE VACKEES

THE VACKEES

OffSpringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

17.03.15

Those poor evacuees have found their way onto the primary curriculum – good for empathy – and often crop up on the page and the stage.

This musical play – Carl Davis and Hiawyn Oram – treads a familiar path; it is performed here with enthusiasm by a large cast of youngsters.

Though the scene changes are slow, the set is impressive – a bridge, tunnel beneath, with a huge screen for images of grimy London or leafy Darchett.

Dan Hall makes a likeable Kip, the London lad who finds himself in the country; Ellen, the girl from the Hall who befriends him, is convincingly done by Bernice Bushell. Promising work in character roles from Ethan Holmes as Poacher Jack, a philosophical Papageno, and Rose Gowen, splendid as Grace, the pert young housemaid.

There is perhaps rather too much music; numbers like Warning: Man in Uniform, with its lovely Land Girl chorus, where staging and scoring combine to excellent effect, are the exception. The “Choose Me” sequence is cleverly done, reprised by the two teachers, played with confidence by Loretta Bushell and Matt Scott. And Dan Dearmer, who gives us an unsympathetic vicar and a good German, has a nice solo in Somewhere Behind.

The Vackees was directed for OffSpringers by Sharon Scott with Jackie Bates. Callum Bates is the MD, with Ian Myers at the keyboard.

THE WIZARD OF OZ

THE WIZARD OF OZ

Offspringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

18.03.14

Alison Woollard was in the first night audience at the Cramphorn ...

The creative team at Offspringers and the large cast of youngsters filled the stage at the Cramphorn with colour, excitement and humour. Co-directors Melissa Smart and Mat Smith ensured all the performers, whether in a major role or in the back row of the chorus, were making a connection with the audience. The colourful and detailed costumes (from Leonie Rose and her team) also helped the young performers to feel at ease in their roles. Effective back projection, lighting and special effects took us quickly from rural Kansas to the fairytale landscapes of Oz.

Karisma Patel captured the cheeky confidence of Dorothy and displayed real stage presence, even when dealing with an enthusiastic Toto who knew she had dog treats in her pocket. Katie Forkings as Scarecrow and Daniel Hall as the Tin Man made an excellent contrast: their movement and voices showed us the droopy man of straw and the unfeeling man of metal with good clarity and timing. As the Lion Paul French created real comedy with his expressive voice. Abbie Gansbuehler relished her role as the Wicked Witch and, again, there was a good contrast with Gloria, played by Bethan Evans: both performers have confident voices which they used to engage the audience.

Ian Myers and his band provided strong musical support for the singers and the choreographer, Olivia Pearson, succeeded in creating effective dance routines for a large cast on a small stage.

Alison Woollard

DRACULA SPECTACULA

Offspringers at the Cramphorn Theatre

22.03.11

The Undead, the Brides of Dracula, the trolley dollies all thronged the Cramphorn stage for the energetic opening of this ever-popular vampire musical.

It's a splendidly camp spoof – though much more innocent than Rocky Horror – and some of these young performers caught the style better than others. Among the most successful was Henry Whitington's Genghis; not as grotesquely deformed as he might have been, but constantly in OTT character. Becky Brewer as Wraith, and Alex Whitington as the Count himself, were also big, bad and bold – their hat-and-cane trio routine was a winner. Clod the Gravedigger, whoever he was, contributed a memorable mime.

On the side of the angels, I liked Ben Hitchen's earnest Professor [lovely subtle mugging] and Eve French's “sweet but vulnerable” Nadia Naïve, the Pennsylvanian teacher who brings her small charges [Loretta Bushell, Paul French, Mattie Scott]

to Transylvania on a school trip. And enthusiastic comedy relief was supplied by Kieran Young and Stephanie Quade as Hans und Gretel.

It was all good fun, with some clever ideas – the bogeys, the Red Bull, the “bridal” bed – and big production numbers – the Drinking Song, Transylvanian Airways. The climax, when the forces of evil are not quite vanquished, was confidently handled.

The Dracula Spectacula was directed by Jayne Silk, with June Watson the Musical Director.

THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE

THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE


OffSpringers at the Cramphorn Theatre Chelmsford
17.03.10


“What possessed him?” The eccentric professor [Henry Whitington] has allowed common tourists into his sanctum. And the C S Lewis estate has allowed hacks to adapt his classic works for stage and screen.


Some have been almost worthy – Adrian Mitchell for the RSC – but Irita Kutchmy's trite travesty has little sense of style either in its words or its music.


What it does do is allow a huge OffSpringers cast, some of them very tiny, to enjoy dressing as animals and being the Rabble, with Maria French's choreography making the most of every opportunity. Not a number goes by without the chorus creeping on to give support. Even the touching soliloquy for Edmund [Matthew Barnes] had Isobelle Molloy's chirpy Robin dancing around.


I liked the bold black and white setting; the all-important wardrobe was cleverly designed. Some of the most striking scenes were towards the end, with the stone table, using smoke and light to good effect. The best numbers were the tongue in cheek ones, like the tap-dancing invitation to tea.


When I saw the show, early in the run, there was some insecurity, and too many moments when nothing happened, awkwardly. The costumes, though, were superb [In Delight's Leonie Rose].


Performances of note included Tamara Anderson's seductive White Witch, well matched by Owen Green's noble Aslan. Ben Hitchen looked great as Tumnus the Faun, but could have been more fey; Eve French gave an assured performance as the youngest Pevensie – we shared her wonder as she wandered first into Narnia. Mr and Mrs Beaver [Kieran Young and and Rebekah Walker] were both very watchable; a shame they couldn't have a  better number.


The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was directed for OffSpringers by Alexandra Arrowsmith, with June Watson as Musical Director.