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The Oppitts
The Blakehay Theatre
Weston-super-Mare
Saturday 29th July 2017
Bugsy Malone is a show written for young performers to play adult roles in a fantasy mobsters and molls world. It is packed with some good, dry humour, some entertaining characters and a handful of catchy songs. There is scope for a large cast of supporting players, dancers and ensemble players. Staging can be a simple or as grand as the director chooses. Thus it is a great choice for a quality youth group like the Oppitts who have delivered multi-award winning productions in the past.
Director Christopher Mills had decided upon a ‘clever’ set for the show: A high, elevated ‘Office’ area Stage Right reached by a staircase. Beneath the office was a cunningly conceived double-sided truck: Large ‘stage door’ on one side and the ‘library’ entrance to Fat Sam’s Speakeasy revealed on the other when wheeled smoothly out. The ground floor held the piano, bar, club-tables and chairs of the Speakeasy, complete with black and white chequered flooring dance floor. Later a grey carpet covered the dance floor to realise Sluggers gym. A large screen was mounted in the upstage wall, the surrounds of which were attractively decorated in the Deco style of nineteen twenties nightclubs. The screen displayed various photographs or messages to suggest the setting for a scene. The design was attractive and practical: it should be able to allow the show to flow smoothly with a minimum of transition time. I must admit however, to being mortified by the sight of four or five young performers shoe-horned into the elevated office area with no protection from a potentially very damaging fall to the stage below. Surely even a simple wooden bar would have given at least a degree of safety without interfering with sight lines?
Musically the show was strong: under superb Musical Director Annie Ford, of course it was! Singing was confident and tuneful, the Ensemble numbers like the opener Fat Sam’s Grand Slam were delivered with great energy and tuneful attack. Solo numbers were equally strong: Blousey’s Ordinary Fool, Cagey Joe’s So You Wanna be a Boxer and Fizzy’s Tomorrow showed off the singing skills of the individuals very well indeed. The Orchestra, packed as tightly as an Ikea flat-pack into a small corner of the auditorium, surrounding Annie were tight and organised.
I cannot avoid a major problem for me: the sound. I fully understand the high cost of head mics and amplification systems but it is money well spent. Unfortunately the system employed for this show was simply not up to the mark: An excellent live band produces a lot of sound and the performers often could not be heard clearly. Underscoring of sections of dialogue rendered them virtually inaudible. I happen to know the book of Bugsy almost by heart, having watched it quite frequently, but missed several key plot points. Young performers often gabble a little and can have less projection than is ideal so the quality and power of the sound system is even more essential. A shame.
Performances were all full of energy, belief and a great deal of fun – just as we expect from the Oppitts. Principals Freya Perrins as Blousey Brown, Jacob Thomas as Bugsy Malone, Mollie Benny as Tallulah, Daniel Walker as Fat Sam, Kelly-Anne Magbanua as Fizzy and Jack Tarleton as Dandy Dan all did well. Nice, big characterisations from everyone. Freya’s down-trodden Blousey was charming and her singing lovely; Jacob’s Bugsy was full of chutzpah and world-weariness; Mollie’s Tallulah was alluring and fun – My Name is Tallulah worked well; Daniel’s Fat Sam was grumpy and larger-than life; Kelly-Anne’s Fizzy showed off her singing to great effect and Jack’s ‘baddy’ Dandy Dan looked every bit the smooth criminal.
The Ensemble and supporting players all contributed hugely. They danced, they sang and they had a great time. Choreography, care of Tessa Sayers had good variety and interest – I particularly liked small ‘inserted’ dance moments like the very elegant group behind Fizzy’s Tomorrow. It was great to see a spot of tap too!
I particularly enjoyed Cagey Joe’s (Jack Walker, I think) So You Wanna be a Boxer and Amalie Carraud’s Leroy. The young performers of this group gave it ‘plenty’.
As all Oppitts shows, this was enjoyable to watch and the cast were clearly having a great time. The vast majority, but by no means all of the full-house audience were Mums and Dads and other relatives – a very happy, forgiving audience who had a great time too. I, however see very many shows and tend to notice things. There is a slight feel of ‘work-in-progress’ for the team, a slight looseness of direction: too many entrances and exits were a little early or a little late, sound was not good, diction could have been better and the finale was a dangerous mêlée. I am a great supporter of the Oppitts and what they do and I am confident that as the production team find their feet that these excellent young performers will be guided, cajoled and persuaded back into brilliance.
I look forward to the next Oppitts outing with bated breath
Thanks for inviting me