Leggy girls in colour-coded leotards, ambitious belting, beautiful harmonising and some consistent and contrasting scene work sum up this year’s BA Arts Ed musical theatre showcase. Ed Currie and Rebecca Thawley open the show, leading the group number Would You Like To Star In Our Show? (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me). Currie is a very competent baritone with leading man looks and a warm presence. He later convinces with comical frustration in a partner counselling session scene from Vexed.
Jamie Papanicolaou is a very strong dancer with a quirky look in solo song All I Ask. Josh Kiernan and Robbie Durham stick to their Scottish roots in an entertaining scene from Deck the Stage, Durham later displaying a lovely sense of cheekiness in Big Ass Rock from The Full Monty. Fela Lufadeju has a great look, lovely placement in text and voice in both his scene and song (Step into the Bad Side from Dreamgirls) and possesses enviable split jump extensions.
Annabel Annan-Jonathan is an extremely talented all-rounder. Her contribution to a scene from The Accountants is one of the highlights of the afternoon, as is her vocal in the closing number A Big Black Lady Stops the Show. Great attack, pizzazz, strong movement, a stunning body, Annan-Jonathan is a force to be reckoned with. Scott Mobley is the male standout of the showcase due to his unique and individual vocals in I slept With Someone (from High Fidelity). He shows strong musicianship and guitar skills, as well as proving to be one of the strongest actors in a scene from New Boy where he manages to make the phenomenon of phlegm compelling viewing. His scene partner Will Keith is equally enticing, later showing a very different character as a slightly-over-the-top psychologist and giving one of the most physically engaging singing performances in What the F**k Was That? from Evil Dead The musical.
Samuel Edwards is very charming and sincere, particularly in the song Naked on a Sunday (from Porn: The Musical), with his song and scene partner Jonny Godbold displaying a very hunky body and impressive dance moves. Nicola Munns gives a raunchy rendition of Turkey Lurkey Time, capably displaying a more vulnerable side of her skill set in a scene from Balls. Livvy Evans has an admirable vocal tone that should suit most rock and pop musical theatre works and Madeleine Mantock is a truly beautiful girl with a lovely, soft vocal tone. Dan Reilly and Scott Royle display charming old-school lightness in their movement for Everything Old is New Again from The Boy from Oz. Tim Sanderson presents one of the strongest male acting performances in a scene from Studs, with a strong tenor/baritone belt to match in his vocal from The Full Monty.
Georgie Ashford gives us a great modern belt sound in duet One Normal Night from The Addams Family, her acting performance in a scene from I’m a Minger proving she is capable of great truth and depth. Lily Frazer’s scene work in Tusk Tusk is quite outstanding, coupled with fantastic singing in the medley Song About The Bad Boys And The News. Scarlett Davies shows off Hollywood looks, great dance skills and competent vocals in If (You Hadn’t But You Did). Rachel Morgan expertly executes height-defying choreography, in contrast giving a very believable and grounded performance in her scene from Like a Virgin. Anthony Hewitt is simply gorgeous to look at and listen to, while Abiola Ogunbiyi closes the showcase as duet partner to Annan-Jonathan with some stratospherically high top belt notes, and a contagious energetic presence. Slick, sexy, soulful and speedily paced: Arts Educational certainly knows how to make use of an hour to show their graduates off to a T.
Expert’s choice (agent Nicola Roberts, Nicola Roberts Management): Scott Mobley and Annabel Annan-Jonathan
Criterion Theatre, London, March 29
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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