Reviews 1

Godspell

Godspell has to be my all-time favourite show to do with kids - and I am not a religious person!

It's got everything! The music's good, with a wide variety of different styles. The show can be played by any number from six to sixty. The sex of the actors doesn't matter - I've even had a girl play Jesus.

It's funny, but it's also incredibly moving. There's tons of room for the director and designer to indulge their creativity. Best of all, it's an ensemble piece and, in my experience, kids are great at ensemble playing.

The British agents are Samuel French Ltd. (Fitzroy Sreet, London). The only drawback is that you have to hire the scripts and score, and the last copies I had were pretty tatty!

Ten out of ten for me, this one!

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Is there a school which hasn't done Joseph?

There may be, and there seems to be an unreasoning prejudice against Andrew Lloyd-Webber in some quarters. Unfortunately in some sections of the theatre (and in school/YT drama) popular success equals bad theatre.

Rubbish!

Joseph is a good show, and it's particularly a good show for kids to do. The music is good and, since most of the songs are pastiches, they provide plenty of opportunity for really enjoyable staging - try the Benjamin Calypso as a limbo dance, for instance. It can be played by a fairly small or a huge cast and, again, it is basically an ensemble piece, with just one large part - Joseph himself.

The staging can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. The last time I did it, I set it in an abandoned classroom, with only two desks and six chairs which were used in various combinations to suggest every scene.

Another ten out of ten!

Little Shop of Horrors

Another good show for kids, but it definitely isn't an ensemble piece. You need experienced, talented actors for this one. There's also not much scope for chorus work. You can actually have a chorus, but there's not much for them to do except appear as extras and join in some of the three girls' songs.

It's also a very technical show. The set is quite complex - we got round that by using trucks, L-shaped scenery on wheels which could be moved into various positions - but even the most simple setting is difficult compared to, say, Godspell or Joseph.

The plant is also difficult: you need four versions. One is very small and must be set on a table with someone underneath to operate it. Number 2 is a glove puppet and Seymour, who carries it, needs a false arm! The third must have someone inside to operate it and the fourth is enormous. It has to swallow people whole and fill a goodly proportion of the stage. You can hire the designs and numbers 1 to 3 are fairly easy to make, but number 4 is a beast! We had to simplify it enormously.

The music is great but you really do need someone with a good rock-singer voice for the plant. We found it easiest to separate the plant's singing and speaking voices, using two actors.

Technically it was the most complex show we have ever done but it proved hugely popular and we made our best ever profit. I do not, however, recommend it for inexperienced companies or directors.

For an experienced group, it's a definite ten, but for the inexperienced, three at most.