Compilation shows such as the interestingly titled Starlights are a trademark of this company and form a root part of the base ethos of the group. GLOC are never shy of taking risks, and are to be congratulated for allowing new production teams full reign and less experienced company members their chance to star in the lights and therefore grow in confidence in these shows. Risk taking, by implication, means that not everything will succeed, but that conversely some may shine where previously their light was perhaps only dimly seen in chorus. And so it always is with these productions. My report therefore is based upon this given premiss. My thanks to the many friends within the company for a warm welcome and convivial pleasantries throughout the evening and for the opportunity to make this report. Starlights was conceived and musically directed with great enthusiasm by relative newcomer Rob Eveleigh who is to be congratulated on achieving so much as a noviciate in this role. I have no doubt he has learnt a great deal over the last months and this experience will stand him in good stead the next time he is offered such a role. He had the foresight and intuition to approach the multi talented and hugely experienced Sian Bowles-Bevan to join him as director and principal choreographer, a smart move and one which paid off handsomely. I gained the distinct impression that they had gelled as a team (so important in all productions) and came out singing strong and loud from the same hymnal? They in turn were ably support by a veritable phalanx of technicians and costumiers, sous-choreographers and stage crew, all of whom are to be highly commended for their respective endeavours. (This has always been another underlying strength of this company and long may it continue). Staging for this piece was of necessity simple yet effective comprising a cyc screen, onto which the titles of each section were projected (if occasionally a little out of focus), and an open floor (much in demand with up to 47 on stage at any one time), with a selection of plain rostra boxes swiftly and efficiently set and re-set by the stage crew under the experienced guidance of Paul Hayes. The drop down forestage had been added as usual and the enlarged band shoe-horned into the offstage left corner of the hall. The balcony area downstage right was also used to good effect despite the difficulty of creating more ‘mood’ lighting in this awkward corner. I would guess that space restraints precluded the use of floor batten cyc lighting which would have allowed for deeper colour washes and greater variety of tone at times. Perhaps future show directors and lighting designers here might seriously consider adding side booms if budget will allow. One of the restrictions of this venue is that probably 75% of your lighting rig is FOH giving a ‘samey’ feel to many of the states. A greater contrast could be made with more cyc definition coupled with cross lighting on stage and spots rather than blanket lighting from front of house. Having said this I felt the lighting was both sympathetically and efficiently handled given the complexities and variety of situations required by such a broad book of work. Sound too was without doubt a step up on last year. New kit always helps and with greater familiarity and knowledge of the capability of the board, particularly equalisation, will come higher quality control. At times I was however aware that the otherwise excellent band were overpowering the cast, particularly some soloists, and that the sound operation was on the limit in an effort to correctly balance the whole. It is a common error with new and enthusiastic MDs to allow volume creep during a run, and one which is easily overcome by planting a set of ears in the audience at tech and opening nights, and then accepting what they say and acting upon it. I shall endeavour to comment on costumes in each section, but let me congratulate the company yet again for overcoming such a daunting task. You are indeed fortunate to have so many willing hands and support in depth coupled with the strength of conviction to allow a new wardrobe mistress to carry responsibility for such a mammoth undertaking. Many would say that Lord Lloyd Webber is the Arthur Sullivan of our day, “Nick a bit here, borrow a phrase there” and I recall a particularly biting song by Kit & the Widow to that effect. Others maintain that all his work sounds the same….. I reserve judgement. Whatever your personal opinion his cannon is certainly extensive and worthy of an evening such as this. Discussion on my table centred on both choice of content and running order. Do you start with well known pieces or end with them? Should you include more lesser-known works than familiar ones? Opinions varied. I have no doubt that Rob & Sian considered all these and other imponderables, made a decision and stuck to it. Personally I doubt if any one format would prove better than the rest. It’s a moot point and I will not dwell on it. The chosen format of chronological progression through the selected shows had both strengths and weakness, but that’s one of the risks you take as I mentioned earlier. The Overture was nicely put together, (by whom?), and gave us a flavour of what was to come. By using JOSEPH as your opening section you were able to provide a really strong first number with the vocal clarity and delivery of Linda Hayes and the clever staging by Sian. Then the choreographic challenge of manoeuvring such a large cast was overcome with subtle movement and a beautifully executed colour fan of costumes revolving round the pivot provided by Guy Chaperlin in the eponymous role. This section also introduced us to Ruth Roberts and Sam Thomas both of whom shone again later in the evening in their very different ways, and to the energetic chorus who were to be put through their paces in no uncertain terms. JCS is a personal favourite of mine and I was delighted to see and hear Mark Evans take on and succeed in the daunting role of Judas and resplendent in his darted 70s flares. (I must look mine out again!) By his own admission Dave Benny was probably cast as Jesus because he has the best follicular requirements within the group. Jane Salisbury brought a Marian Faithful vocal style to the haunting ‘Everything’s Alright’ but the seated grouping left me stretching for a clear view. The aforementioned Mr Thomas brought a clear bass resonance to the opening of ‘Hosanna!’ while Colin Smith was preceded onto stage by his extravagantly camp costume for ‘Herod’s Song’. This section was completed with the title song set to a free-form chorus dance in true 70s mode and colourfully costumed accordingly. This was the first time a variation in lighting style would I feel have added greatly to the overall effect. Inevitably with an evening like this the company require time to change from one set of costumes into a completely different one. The production team quite correctly therefore used a duet from one of the lesser known shows, BY JEEVES, to cover this. In a stylishly simple and excellently painted ‘car’, (Rick Myrtle’s brushwork I presume?), Colin Smith and Adrian Duce performed one of the highlights of the evening as Jeeves & Wooster respectively singing & acting the comedy duet ‘Open Road’. One costume/props note here – did we consider driving goggles for Adrian? The EVITA set opened with a slow march to set the Argentinean flag over the balcony rail; however some of the following chorus movement was not as slick or expressive as previously. Once again Linda sang well but this section of the programme suffered with the overloud band swamping the soloists. Rick sang with confidence despite the wig and certainly looked the part in combats and beret. The dance-break in ‘Buenos Aires’ was another instance where I felt a lighting change would have added to the otherwise strong choreography. The second filler slot was the title song from TELL ME ON A SUNDAY beautifully sung by Karen Anstiss. What a shame this lovely, quiet, funny/tragic number couldn’t have been performed acoustically? With not much more than piano accompaniment it would have been nice to hear an ambient rather than amplified solo. The first half closed with a selection from CATS beginning with a very strong dance section from ‘Jellicle Cats’. Sharp choreography and excellent costumes & make-up drew the eye to faces and feet as the 10 speciality dancers strutted their stuff. As the vocals began it was instantly clear that some sort of off-stage mic was in use. This proved less than successful and sadly detracted from the routine on stage. I realise that the remaining cats were making up and dressing in the green rooms, but this number would have worked much better with a quartet on the balcony or something similar. Musically it sounded tinny and unreal with occasionally audible huffs & puffs in the background. This number was followed by Dawn Slaughter bravely attempting the classic ‘Memory’. While she certainly looked the part this player is better suited to more comic numbers as we saw subsequently. The two male dancers featured in the final song ‘Mr Mistoffelees’ supported by the company in a rousing finale. Following an efficiently served and tasty interval fish or chicken’n’chips supper the curtains re-opened on Martin Wilcox to introduce us to STARLIGHT EXPRESS. Blessed with a fine singing voice Martin gave his all, but I’m not sure this was a strong enough choice as an opening number. The stark lighting cast shadows across his face and, I’m bound to say, the costumes in this section while obviously lovingly and carefully crafted proved less effective than in other excerpts. The featured foursome and ladies chorus gave us ‘A Lotta Locomotion’ with suitable train style choreography. The beautifully arranged PIE JESU brought together the lyrical voices of Karen Benny & Lucy Macey while the remaining company prepared for the PHANTOM section which opened to spontaneous applause for the stunning costumes & masks. (Small note here – if you are going to expose the backs of masks in a routine you need to ensure they are uniformly blacked out or some such). The haunting title duet between Nick King & Ruth Roberts brought up goose-bumps on my skin as both sang on top form. Dawn reappeared as the priceless comic ‘Prima Donna’ in the final number ably supported by Adrian Duce and Dave Simpson while Ruth Roberts and David Smith sang the counter melody with great presence. A vision in red brought us the quartet of Ann Baldwin, Karen Steel, Jo Parker-Burton & Jan Marchant to create the strong harmonies of ‘Love Changes Everything’ from ASPECTS of LOVE as Phantom costumes were replaced by those for SUNSET BOULEVARD. Sadly ‘Let’s Have Lunch’ proved to be musically and technically beyond the capabilities of the company despite the best endeavours of all involved. Vocals were lost as float mics struggled to pick up lyrics, the band was too strong at times, and even performers of the status and experience of Martin Elliff in the principal role looked insecure at times. Bravo for taking the risk, but this was one that just got away. Stephanie King in the Norma Desmond role looked and sounded right and I particularly liked the lighting effect in ‘Perfect Year’ as they kissed. WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND was next and featured the evangelical Mr Wilcox in top form leading the company in ‘The Vaults of Heaven’. Perhaps because these pieces are less well known the directors chose to try out newer members of the company here, and this ‘risk’ produced the revelation of the evening for me in the presence and ability of Alistair Slaughter who solo lead us into ‘No Matter What’ with great comic timing and facial expression. Ably supported by Messrs Simpson, Smith, Thomas and Walduck resplendent in leather jackets and performing a very funny backing routine. Top marks. Also very amusing were Karen B & Mark returning to give us the coy duet ‘First Time’ from BEAUTIFUL GAME complete with bed. Karen A then closed the section with a fine rendition of ‘Our Kind Of Love’. The Finale brought on everyone in selected costumes hopefully pointing us back to their earlier performances and triumphs, which segued into a reprise of ‘Vaults of Heaven’ (surprisingly this was not lead by the previous incumbent which possibly lessened its punch and therefore impact) to bring us to the final choral high, the curtain, and the end of another enjoyable evening. I trust my comments will be taken as they are intended, as a constructive critique, and that you will feel able to come back to me should you feel I have been unduly harsh or if I am not apprised of some vitally relevant fact. I am always happy to discuss further, and look forward to chatting with you again. Having sadly missed Honk! last May I look forward with anticipation to Crazy For You next year.

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