Review of The Addams Family Musical: School Edition (Team Cousin IT) at the Cripps Hall Theatre, Northampton

I first saw the stage musical version of The Addams Family five years ago, and this, the school edition presented by NMTC Youth Society offered an intriguing prospect of how the somewhat dark humour that the main show might have been toned down.

It came as quite a delight, in the end, to discover that, mostly, it hadn’t been toned down at all. Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice’s book, and Andrew Lippa’s lyrics, constantly relish in death and the methods of. And in a very subtle, and clever moment, the show even has a covid joke, which for once, I actually liked. The shows can stop doing it now though.

Gomez is of course the main player in this musical, and what a truly brilliant performance Joe Jeffery brings to the stage. It is a total show of confidence and his stage presence is brilliant for someone so young. I also absolutely loved his comic timing, making the most of every little joke in the show. Hatti Taylor equally shines as Morticia, a slinky and stylish performance, which relishes in the deadpan look of the character. Both also perform their songs with extremely impressive vocal abilities, and Jeffery shows a brilliant skill with his accents and mickey-taking moments, which the audience loved.

Lily-Grace Tofte (who I remember shining on stage as young Cossette a few years back in Les Misérables, and slightly more recently in the adult company show Made in Dagenham) continues to dazzle with confidence as Wednesday, and her unquestionable vocal skills are on full display in several songs. Elsie Lovell provides a great amount of fun as her torture loving brother Pugsley as well and brings a great deal of depth to the character.

Clearly having a lot of fun on stage is Winter Wilmot as Uncle Fester, and serving also as our narrator for the show. I have to admit, that the whole moon storyline that Fester has in the show does not convince me, but with Wilmot’s performance, it at least is provided with some poignancy and charm.

Much like the character did in the adult version, Lurch, lurches across the stage in constant scene-stealing moments, and Isaac Standage in the role takes his chance with great humour.

Finally, for special mention from the cast is Zachary Pilkington as Mal, a brilliantly contrasting performance, but to say more, would be a spoiler. Let’s just say, he gives a fabulous performance.

There was very little to criticise from the show as a youth production, and mostly any minor issues were technical ones with some slightly sluggish scene changes and a few wayward spotlights. However, for a show that has a great deal going on, it was mostly brilliantly executed.

The show is on stage again on Sunday 10th April, with this team performing the evening performance, with this afternoon Team Thing is in action and I am looking forward to seeing what this different cast brings to the show.

Click your fingers and magic up some tickets while you can.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Saturday 9th April 2022 (matinee) at the Cripps Hall Theatre, Northampton.

The Addams Family: School Edition runs until Sunday 10th April at the Cripps Hall Theatre and details can be found at https://www.northamptonmusicaltheatrecompany.co.uk/youth/

The Addams Family is an NMTC YOUTH SOCIETY PRODUCTION

Production photos: Ashleigh Standage

Review of Breaking the Code at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Breaking The Code , the opening play in the new Made in Northampton season at Royal & Derngate, is a surprisingly old and rarely seen play. Written in 1986 by Hugh Whitemore, it tells the story of legendary codebreaker Alan Turing, a man who, in the 1980s, when this play first appeared, was relatively unknown. The years since the origin of this play have been good for Turing, with his life's work finally getting the recognition it deserves, and also, very much what this play centres on, a recognition of the horrific life and end that Turing had as a result of dealing with the laws of the day. Breaking the Code has seen life before on the stage of the Royal, as back in 2003, Philip Franks took to the role of Turing in a very well-received production. So, what of this brand new version directed by the Royal & Derngate's artistic director Jesse Jones? Does it live up to Turing's legend? That is an unquestionable yes with no machines needed to crack the class behind thi...

Review of National Theatre Connections 2017 (16 Shows) at Royal & Derngate (Royal & Underground), Northampton

Alongside the University of Northampton BA Actors Flash Festival, the Connections festival at Royal & Derngate is now my joint favourite week of theatre each year. This is my fourth year at the festival and each time I have tried my very best (and succeeded) in seeing more and more of those on offer (four in 2014, ten in 2015 and twelve last year). This year I cracked sixteen shows, including the most interesting, a chance to see two of the plays by three different groups. I was able to see nine of this year's ten plays (a single nagging one, Musical Differences by Robin French was missing from the R&D line-up), and most I either enjoyed or finally understood their merits or reasons for inclusion. The writing of sixteen reviews is a little bit of an daunting prospect, however, I will do my best to review each of the plays and those I saw more than once, and pick around the comparisons. Extremism by Anders Lustgarten Performed by Bedford College Extremism was perfo...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though, Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...

A Small Mind At The Theatre

Search This Blog