Brave move to try something new (From Swindon Advertiser)

Brave move to try something new

5:15pm Monday 19th July 2010 in

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It takes a brave group to stage a virtually unknown new musical in the middle of a recession, and in summer no less.

The average theatre goer prefers the known and familiar.

So does Theatre Ink’s production of Bad Girls justify director Barry Austin’s faith in his cast? It certainly does.

Elements of drama, black comedy and musical razzmatazz competed for the audience’s attention throughout the show, which has only recently completed a run in the West End.

Uniformly strong singing from the mainly female cast, well directed by Richard Abrams and accompanied by the pit band, projected the words well, and there were some nicely emotional numbers.

From the bleak opening with new inmate Rachel (Suzanne Russell) to the introduction of the other prisoners, each principal actor portrayed a different character type.

Debbie Caddy, Dee Austin, Lisa Aust and Ann Morcumb get a special mention here, but it almost seems unfair to single out individuals from a strong cast and ensemble.

Natalie Chequer, a late replacement in the role of Crystal, was charming.

Elizabeth Sawyer, as Yvonne Atkins, clearly knows how to hold an audience. It’s a shame it takes so long for her character to appear.

As the reforming governor, Rebecca Davis played her role with conviction, though it did require a suspension of disbelief to imagine she would have a love affair with an inmate.

Ian Laurie’s portrayal of the guard, Jim Fenner, the central male role, oozed evil, although this was sometimes undermined by the slightly pantomime quality of duets with his equally unpleasant partner Sylvia (Brenda Woodward).

In fairness, though, this seemed to be a fault of the script. The show encompasses a number of different musical and theatre styles, and it was sometimes jarring as the storyline moved from one to another.

There were times when the ‘belt’ singing voices – generally good – drifted towards shouting: sometimes less really is more.

Set changes, always a problem on the small Arts Centre stage, were rather laboured and repetitive.

The few songs that moved the action along were most effective theatrically, but the remaining numbers sometimes came across as rather static.

And it’s a pity that there is no standout song for the audience to take away.

The show deals with adult subjects, and isn’t suitable for young children. But for the rest of you, I recommend you give this production a try. It’s in support of Help For Heroes.

And if anyone tells you that nothing new ever happens in Swindon, Theatre Ink can be proud to prove that wrong.

– ROB BURBIDGE