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I�ve always enjoyed Matt Devitt�s performances in the now annual Shakespeare production and this year wasn�t any different. Matt is just superb as one of the twin servant brothers. It really was like the part was written for him and he has great comic timing. Matt is also a really accomplished musician and a great singer and this year is the first chance I�ve had to hear Matt sing properly. Another star performance from him.
As the other twin servant brother we have Julian Littman, I�ve never seen Julian before and he didn�t disappoint as he was fantastic. Julian as the MD on the show holds all the singing and playing together really well. Julian is another person with a great voice and I particularly loved his rendition of On the Road Again as well as him and Matt singing Soul Man.
It was good to see Peter Helmer taking on a bigger part than that of Eddie in Pump Boys and Dinettes and I really enjoyed Peter�s performance. My only complaint would be that him and James Eaton don�t look like each other enough to be confused for each other as identical twins. Peter is a great musician and I particularly loved his playing during the song Dr Pinch (well I think that�s what it�s called).
James Eaton is the other twin brother and I knew that James would be good as I loved him as Jim in Pump Boys and Dinettes. It�s a pity though that you don�t get to hear James sing until the finale. Again from Pump Boys and Dinettes I knew that he was a good musician but I wasn�t prepared for how good he was on both the trumpet and the drums, a definite good all rounder.
Yet another fabulous performance from Wendy Parkin in the dual roles of Luciana and Abesses. The first role gave Wendy a chance to show her more sensitive side while as the Abesses, Wendy really does have a comedy part and she does a storming rendition of Stand by your Man complete with Matt, Phil, Peter and James on backing vocals and with a funny little dance as well, you will have tears of laughter rolling down your face at the sight of this. Wendy is given a chance to bring her trumpet playing to the fore and she is a really good trumpet player, Wendy also plays drums which is something that I have never seen her play before.
Georgina Field is someone I have never seen before and she is a really good musician and I think she holds the band together. As the Courtesan she is basically a prostitute and is dressed as such. Georgina doesn�t get a chance to sing until the finale when she sings Everybody Needs Somebody to Love with James Eaton and Georgina has a good voice.
James Earl Adair plays three parts in the show and has some very quick costume changes. As always James is totally brilliant and his real chance to shine is when he is Dr Pinch and the song that accompanies this part, it�s an all singing, all dancing spectacular which also features Matt, Phil, James Eaton, Georgina and Loveday. It�s so funny the way it�s performed and really gives James a chance to shine.
Loveday Smith has always had an amazing voice and she really let it show in this show. As Adriana she has some very powerful blues songs to sing. Her great chemistry with Wendy is seen again and when they sing together their voices blend really well. As normal Loveday plays loads of trumpet and unlike in Pump Boys and Dinettes she is allowed to play her trumpet really loud.
Finally we have Phil Reed who has changed characters and is now Balthasar, a bent cop who blackmails people and is always on the take from the people he arrests. This is the first time I�ve seen Phil as a truly evil character and he was so good at it. Phil is the only one in the cast who doesn�t have a solo song or duet to sing but you do get to hear him clearly when he�s doing backing vocals.
This is a show that everyone involved in should be very proud of and Bob Carlton has yet again shown that Shakespeare can be fun and interesting.
Well done everyone and thanks for a great night.
Helen Baker
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