Love Midlands Theatre

Our House - Old Rep, Birmingham - Youth Onstage

12/5/2018

 
Picture

A show full of talent, fun, love and madness

This vibrant, Olivier Award-winning show was brought to the Old Rep stage this week by Youth Onstage.  The story, written by Tim Firth, premiered in 2002, the musical being rooted in music by Madness, the ska revival band that, at its peak, successfully charted in the late 70s and early 80s.

Directed by Deb Brook, the story centres around Joe Casey (James Woodward) who makes a life-changing decision on his 16th birthday.  Camden-born Casey, attempts to impress Sarah (Stacey Taras) by taking her to a building site that overlooks Casey Street, pointing out where his family live.... at no. 25.  The police turn up and, in a split second, Joe has to decide whether to make a run for it or stay and face the music. Our House follows those two possible destinies and Joe has to live with the consequences of that fateful night. The story develops with a nice twist and all is watched over by Joe's late father who pulls the two scenarios together.

In the mammoth central role, James Woodward sang and danced up a storm by successfully portraying both of the Joe's with super-fast costume and persona changes that at first could make you think there were two actors in the role.  Stacey Taras was fabulous as both versions of his girlfriend Sarah, with a pretty voice and determined yet sensitive disposition.  Joe's dad was payed brilliantly by Alex Currie who pieced the story together with songs, asides and an awful lot of door changes.  Gibsa Bah as Emmo and Matt Brook as Lewis played Joe's loyal mates with gusto, treating us to well-timed comedy and sensitive moments of true friendship.  Kia Gates as Kath, Joe's mother, and Gareth Yates as the devious Reecey were both good and strong in their roles, Kia having a delightful singing voice and engaging stage presence.  Sarah's catty friends Billie (Kitty Roberts) and Angie (Lauren Chapman) were most enjoyable to watch in their roles; funny, confident, both with excellent voices and strong dance ability.  Adam Brown played Mr Pressman boldly and with just enough verve, and the super-confident support actors and ensemble completed the cast without a weak link in the chain, sometimes undertaking costume changes at high speed to ensure the scenes flowed seamlessly.

Musically directed by David Jones, the band's strong playing ability lead the show commendably.  Choreographer, Amy Evans, designed the dance routines appropriately to the era, keeping the cast uplifted and oozing with energy and happiness - whether driving in cars, paddling boats, twirling umbrellas or dancing in the street.

Supported by a good lighting scheme and performed in a fun set consisting of brick walls and rotating doors, the show moved at a good pace without any hitches, excepting a technical issue with crackly radio mics and a signpost to HM Prison that clearly had a mind of its own although this unfortunate prop fall didn't appear to phase the actors present who continued regardless, demonstrating a high level of competency and professionalism.


In all, Youth Onstage made this a very easy show to enjoy. It was funny, lively, charismatic, moving at times and the cast certainly did justice to the music of Madness, with great renditions of Baggy Trousers, Driving In My Car, Tomorrow's Just Another Day, Wings Of A Dove and, of course, Our House. Ending in a standing ovation this young group should be very proud  as it was most definitely a show full of talent, fun, love and madness.

Runs to 12th May





Comments are closed.

    Love Midlands Theatre

    Sharing the latest theatre news and reviews around the Midlands.

    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    Amateur Theatre
    Birmingham
    Coventry
    Love Midlands Theatre
    Professional
    Review
    Solihull
    Stafford
    Tamworth
    Theatre
    Wolverhampton

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Contact