NODA Review - Martin Craig
Having only seen Six Productions in the last Eighteen Months (Three of these happen to have been My Fair Lady) I was intrigued to see how this version would fair against the other two.
The three main roles, Eliza Doolittle, Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering were played well by Amy Roebuck-Smith, Graham Mudie and Mark Stilwell – Amy`s Eliza gaining confidence throughout and coming into her own once 'Lady' Eliza had been discovered.
Graham had a good, solid performance Higgins, excellent diction and a full understanding of what he was saying and why.
My favourite performance of the night was Mark Stilwell as a (younger than usual) Colonel Pickering, showing good comic timing in his somewhat sardonic delivery.
Ryan O’Hagan played a rather youthful Alfred P Doolittle. Whether it was accent or sound levels, on the night I went, I did have difficulty what was being said - had I been a novice to the show, this may have made his story difficult to follow. Nevertheless, Ryan played the role with conviction.
Andrew McMinn always sings and performs well, and his portrayal of Freddie was no exception.
Mrs Pearce and Mrs Higgins were capably played by Gillian Rothery and Liz Turnbull as were all other minor roles throughout the production.
Chorus numbers were well executed, with numbers befitting the numbers and allowable stage area. The passage of time was depicted well by the servants, though I did feel the lighting in this number could have been a little more subtle rather than them looking as though they had been caught in security lights.
Staging was good with a fixed set, hand props and set props brought on to complement the scenes which worked well throughout, though I did find the bright pin lights attached to the framework and on through the show to be a tad distracting.
Orchestra sounded great under the capable baton of Liz Condron, Director and Choreographer (Tony McGee and Natasha McKenzie respectively) should be pleased over what was achieved in such an uncertain time, and the cast had obviously worked hard to provide the town live theatre so soon after such a long hiatus. Thank you, Workington, for your invite and hospitality
Martin Craig (District 11)
The three main roles, Eliza Doolittle, Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering were played well by Amy Roebuck-Smith, Graham Mudie and Mark Stilwell – Amy`s Eliza gaining confidence throughout and coming into her own once 'Lady' Eliza had been discovered.
Graham had a good, solid performance Higgins, excellent diction and a full understanding of what he was saying and why.
My favourite performance of the night was Mark Stilwell as a (younger than usual) Colonel Pickering, showing good comic timing in his somewhat sardonic delivery.
Ryan O’Hagan played a rather youthful Alfred P Doolittle. Whether it was accent or sound levels, on the night I went, I did have difficulty what was being said - had I been a novice to the show, this may have made his story difficult to follow. Nevertheless, Ryan played the role with conviction.
Andrew McMinn always sings and performs well, and his portrayal of Freddie was no exception.
Mrs Pearce and Mrs Higgins were capably played by Gillian Rothery and Liz Turnbull as were all other minor roles throughout the production.
Chorus numbers were well executed, with numbers befitting the numbers and allowable stage area. The passage of time was depicted well by the servants, though I did feel the lighting in this number could have been a little more subtle rather than them looking as though they had been caught in security lights.
Staging was good with a fixed set, hand props and set props brought on to complement the scenes which worked well throughout, though I did find the bright pin lights attached to the framework and on through the show to be a tad distracting.
Orchestra sounded great under the capable baton of Liz Condron, Director and Choreographer (Tony McGee and Natasha McKenzie respectively) should be pleased over what was achieved in such an uncertain time, and the cast had obviously worked hard to provide the town live theatre so soon after such a long hiatus. Thank you, Workington, for your invite and hospitality
Martin Craig (District 11)