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Review
It was curtain up
on a new era for Denmead Operatic Society as
they presented their first show, under their new
name Curtain Up! Productions.
“Acorn Antiques – The
Musical!” is based on the parodic soap opera of
the same name from Victoria Wood’s “As Seen on
TV” series from the 1980s. It makes fun of badly
produced soap operas with wobbly sets, poor
continuity, low production values and improbable
plots. Characterisation is key in this show and
their previous experience with productions of
The Vicar of Dibley, ‘Allo, ‘Allo and He-De-Hi,
set the company in good stead. Under the able
direction of Ian Clark, they carried it off
convincingly, no doubt helped somewhat by the
stunning set, which was easily transformed from
street scene to antiques shop interior by the
slick stage crew, and even featured a working
stair lift!
Nadine Darnley captured the
essence of Mrs Overall with her downtrodden
appearance, shuffling gait and Brummie accent.
Sue Applin and Kaye Lee-Wright were well paired
as the twins: up-tight Miss Babs and the
desperate-for-love Miss Berta (respectively),
with Sam Spivey perfect as the hard-nosed
business woman and long-lost sister, Miss
Bonnie. Sophie Dulake and Ryan Richards both
shone as the stereotypical YTS-types, Mimi and
Hugh, maintaining their characters well
throughout.
With the three sisters
reunited, they only have to find their mother,
secure a husband for one of them and locate the
hidden money in order to save the ailing
antiques business from rampant globalisation and
evil loan shark Tony, convincingly portrayed by
Mark De Salis.
The musical numbers ranged
from big, brassy, toe-tapping dances involving
the whole cast, to softly sentimental solos.
Berta’s solo “Remind Him” was beautifully sung
and acted by Kaye Lee-Wright. Sue Applin and Sam
Spivey also enchanted us with their individual
numbers. I must also mention “Gent’s Duet”,
touchingly sung by Ian Clark and Graham Cranmer.
An excellent eight-piece
band, under the direction of Darren Alderton,
produced a tremendous sound but, thanks to a
good sound engineer, never overwhelmed the cast
in volume, allowing us to hear every one of the
clever words in the songs.
Acorn Antiques is a
challenging piece and Victoria Wood, Julie
Walters, Celia Imrie and co. are a hard act to
follow, but Curtain Up! carried it off with
pizazz and aplomb. Victoria Wood said her
intention was to give people a “lovely, happy
night in the theatre” and that’s exactly what
Curtain Up! Productions gave us.
Mark Donalds,
NODA Rep
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