Guys and Dolls 2015 

"The Boat That Rocks", Scissorum Article by Pat Capel

Last night I was thoroughly entertained and very pleasantly surprised. What a show! From the tight harmonies in “Fugue for Tinhorns” all the way through to the (brought the house down) “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat,” the cast delivered a superb performance of Guys and Dolls. The time and effort spent on the show was evident from the start. From the lovingly realized details in Savio Gimmi’s set and lighting design, to the obvious hours spent at the piano with Joan Stubbs rehearsing the harmonies, to the excellence of the backstage team, this cast and crew can be very proud. The audience must have been wondering where on earth the pupils and staff find the time (on top of what is an already heavy workload) to polish and perfect a show as complex as this to West End standards. Jo Cox, John Coleman, Melissa-Rose Marsh and Alana Simons must be very proud and can take a well-deserved bow: as can Simon Couldridge, who worked his magic on the band.

There are always standout performances, but what was especially pleasing about this production was how evenly the principal players shared the honours. Ben Peart transformed brilliantly into a bumbling Nicely-Nicely and Udaya Sharma made a wonderfully sleazy Nathan Detroit. The real surprise for me was Charlie Carter, playing the part of Sky Masterson, whose performance of “Luck be a Lady Tonight” was my personal favourite. We have a crooner in the making with Charlie. The girls from St Helen’s were equally impressive. Nadya Kumar has the voice of an angel, as well as natural acting talent. She played a wonderfully humorous and sympathetic Miss Adelaide. Kristen Smithers’s timid, repressed Sarah Brown had no chance against the wily ways of smooth operator Sky Masterson, and his charm compounded with the news that the Mission is in danger of closing down because not enough people take advantage of its services, set up the stupendous finale.

Few productions will ever bring out the essential warmth of the show better than this. Sky, of course, can draw on his wide circle of friends on Broadway to guarantee that the Mission is crowded and thereby saved (“Sit down You’re Rocking the Boat”). Sarah’s romantic interest in Sky thereby revives and their love affair achieves its Hollywood ending at the altar; as – at long last -- does that of Nathan and the long-suffering Adelaide. Well done to all!

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