Skip to main content

Review of Café Crescendo - The Late Show by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Underground), Northampton

The Early Show had been quite special, however the Late Show was to offer even more and this time with truly added audience participation and experience. The dust cloths of the haunted cafe had been discarded and delicate white tablecloths, candles and a flower in a vase were in its place. We were at a quality cafe and ready for a bit of cabaret style entertainment.

Jessica (a superb Lauren Moody) is busy cleaning up the cafe when her boyfriend (we shall see about that) Daniel (Ryan McLean) turns up ready to take her to a party. Well not just a party, but also Edinburgh, because special things await him there so Lauren must come too.

In between my making Daniel sound a bit selfish, we also have a tale to be told to Lauren through our wonderful time travelling cafe. Switching through the decades we are treated to 20s, 40s, 60s and 80s ensembles. Each of these has a group leader; Anne (Francesca Chaisson), Rosie (Mia Rista), Rosa (Michaela Blackburn) and Sarah (Amara Browning); and each performs a full solo laying out the path of decision for Jessica (and indeed us).

The solos are all excellent and performed with excellent choreographed numbers by the groups, but my favourite two would have to be the flapper styled Maybe This Time performed by Francesca, and Just A Housewife by Mrs Lovett herself Amara Browning. The latter is performed by her with such emotion that the die is cast in the audience just in time for the announcement of our part in proceedings. The audience is to select if Jessica goes or stays, and our cold hearted lot make the correct decision to send Daniel packing to bonny old Scotland on his tod.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with Lauren Moody and Ryan McLean just amazing in their lead roles. Once again applause to all involved in this show, this is not only a superb piece of theatre presented in a unique style, but also with the wonderful interactive element for the audience. It really was a special and fun show. Congratulations to absolutely everyone involved.


Performance reviewed: Sunday 25th May, 2015 (second show) at the Royal & Derngate (Underground), Northampton.

Café Crescendo was performed by the R&D Youth Theatre at the Royal & Derngate between Friday 22nd May and Sunday 24th May, 2015.

For further details about the Royal & Derngate visit their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Death on the Nile at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Agatha Christie is a name synonymous with crime fiction, perhaps the most famous, and her 1937 novel Death on the Nile is among her most notable. Adapted often for the screen and previously also as a stage play back in the forties, here Ken Ludwig brings a new adaptation to the stage, first performed in 2024 and arriving now at Royal & Derngate as part of an extensive UK tour. For this production from Fiery Angel, we return very much to the team that brought Ludwig's Murder on the Orient Express recently to the stage, including director Lucy Bailey. That was a solid adaptation, so, as we cruise the Nile, is it more of the same standard? Heiress Linnet Ridgeway and her new husband, Simon, are on honeymoon aboard a luxurious boat cruising the Nile, their journey shadowed by a priceless Egyptian sarcophagus. Tension simmers among the eclectic mix of guests, including Simon's vengeful ex-fiancée, a watchful MI5 agent, the British Museum's enigmatic Egyptology curator, and P...
Read more

Review of Mary Poppins at Milton Keynes Theatre

The 1964 Disney film Mary Poppins is one of the most fondly remembered family films and has been a staple of many children's childhoods ever since its release. Adapted from P. L. Travers's book series featuring the famous nanny, it took until 2004 for the show to reach the stage, with this musical adaptation featuring a book by Julian Fellowes. The stage musical used the familiar songs from the film by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and added new ones by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, all under the watchful eye of co-creator Cameron Mackintosh. It is safe to say that many people were involved in bringing this show to the stage. The story, of course, tells of the family Banks—father George, mother Winifred, and the tricky-to-handle children Michael and Jane. Following a job advertisement thrown into the fireplace, a nanny named Mary Poppins arrives at their home, and the Banks' family experiences a very different world than they have ever before. Touring to sele...
Read more

Review of Jesus Christ Superstar (N.M.T.C.) at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The now-legendary Jesus Christ Superstar , written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, initially struggled to find backing in 1970, so its first airing was as a concept album rather than the now mainly recognised stage show. Now, 55 years later, the legendary Northampton Musical Theatre Company, at least in Northampton, brings the show to the Royal & Derngate once again, after last performing it in 2010. The story, I suspect, needs little introduction, so I leave you to ensure you know the story before heading to the theatre to see the show. And what a show it is: this is the N.M.T.C., almost at the top of their game, assembling the cream of their group and a vast cast supporting the main players. As lead, newcomer Linden Iliffe takes on the weighty role of Jesus of Nazareth, and he is terrific in the challenging part, depicting the innocent power imbued in him and his desperation and disappointment as his life unravels amid bitter betrayal and disownment. He has a powerful voice,...
Read more