Review: Showstoppers 13 @ Bryce Institute, Burneside (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Review: Showstoppers 13 @ Bryce Institute, Burneside

12:30pm Friday 9th September 2011 in Reviews By Adrian Mullen, Arts correspondent

Showstoppers 13 was more or less five productions in one and a Herculean task for a professional company, let alone am-dram outfit Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society.

They pulled it off with flying colours. The work put in by the cast, technical, costume and set guys was extraordinary.

It was non-stop, good quality entertainment, and the talented performers used every inch of the Bryce – on and off stage.

Okay, once or twice the vocals were a tad off – but such was the show’s pace and vitality you barely noticed.

It was worth the £7 ticket price just for the excellent excerpts from Barnum.

The costumes alone were stunning and playing PT Barnum was a significant moment for actor Simon Yaxley, proving that he’s more than capable of taking on a challenging lead role in a musical.

We had a generous helping of Singin’ in the Rain; a tuneful trip down the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard of Oz - with Emily Davies looking and sounding remarkably like a young Judy Garland as Dorothy - and a vibrant bounce through songs from the musical Hairspray.

Jazz opened act 2 with plenty of razzmatazz and silky smooth numbers such as Hey Big Spender, and as a special treat on top of the ensemble pieces Steve Hall’s Britain’s Got Talent dance routine augmented by Bob Christie and Duncan Cramphorn nearly brought the house down.

Duncan also teamed up with the hilarious Mr Hall for several deftly scripted comic double-handers in front of the curtain during set changes.

For me, Showstoppers 13 was an exceptionally well thought out show, a real gem, which must have taken hours and hours of sweat and toil, not to mention planning.

It was a true triumph for BATS and director/producers Kathryn Irving and Steve Hall.