The Stage

Guildford School of Acting: BA (Hons) Acting/Musical Theatre: Simon Company

Published Wednesday 24 June 2009 at 17:20 by Paul Vale

It is either immensely foolish or very brave to satirise a reviewer at the opening of a showcase, but whichever it was, the GSA Monks close, comical harmony in line with Tim Rice and Stephen Oliver’s Blondel monks was a success. Adam Anderson, Philip Labey, Mark Lawson and Yannick Fernandes created an opening that was both original and eye-catching.

After such an start, it was interesting to see the other choices of these performers. Lawson opted for a much more grounded number from the doomed ship musical or rather the musical about a doomed ship, Titanic. Here Lawson is a commanding presence on stage and the number offered him a decent range, both emotionally and vocally. Fernandes, too, played to his strengths, but I sensed his choice of number was perhaps a little limiting. With Janna Yngwe, Fernandes gave a perfectly acceptable song from Bernstein’s Candide, but I would like to have seen him in something more contemporary in style, if not theme. This said, they found the humour in the song and delivered it well. Anderson played to his strengths and portrayed his geeky, rather two-dimensional character from Fabula with efficiency. Labey possibly proved the most versatile of performers with his touching scene from Civil War and a dramatic monologue by Rupert Brooke. Labey delivered the scene with clarity and tenderness, demonstrating a touch of charisma on stage that will serve him well in the future, both as a singer of musical theatre and an actor.

Joe West sang and danced his way through I Got Rhythm with great finesse, ably accompanied in this scene by Yngwe on cello. This is a lively piece of fun and West play it completely over the top, as it should be.

Proud of Your Boy and Mama a Rainbow became one of the highlights of the evening, with Rob Wilshaw and David Gale marrying two separate numbers into a soaring harmony that filled the auditorium. Here were two very talented performers proving their worth on stage and, indeed, selling their range and abilities to this important audience of agents and casting directors.

Possibly one of the most traumatic scenes I have witnessed in a showcase has to be Motortown as performed by Harriet Ryder and Christian Walker. This scene really drew the audience in and Ryder, in particular, seemed genuinely petrified at the terror and violence emanating from Walker’s character.

Lauren Samuels and Adam Barlow both gave an absolutely wonderful scene developed from the idea of a newly married couple. These two worked well together and good timing, mixed with clever choices of both musical numbers and the dramatic scenes, proved most successful.

Choosing movie scenes as your theatre showcase can often be a hit or miss affair, but Woody Allen is such a fluid comic writer that Hannah and Her Sisters was an excellent choice for Bethany Carol and Kate Victors. While the scene very much belongs to Carol as she negotiates her way through the Allen’s various neuroses with aplomb, it is Victors as Hannah who sticks in the mind. A scene from Cooking With Elvis, where Victors was joined by Christopher Kinneston, proved to be slightly less successful, although Kinneston and Victors showed that they would both be worth a screen test and hopefully both performers have showreels ready to offer agents.

After such a mixed bag of scenes, Tracey Penn got the chance to close the showcase with a rousing number from Moby Dick. Penn threw all her eggs into one basket with this number and with the company as her chorus it was a wise move, as she proved as talented a burlesque as she did a singer and dancer.

EXPERT CHOICE

Samantha Reps (Crescent Management)

• Kate Victors

• Tracey Penn

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