THEATRE REVIEW: Forbidden Theatre at Rotherham Civic
HOW do you fill a production with showstoppers without going full “talent show”?
That was the task before experienced director Dee Bennie-Marshall after she picked 22 musical theatre songs for her song-and-dance celebration, Forbidden Theatre (at Rotherham Civic until tonight).
The soundtrack is a collection of powerhouse ballads, moving duets and energetic, fun dance numbers from musicals yet to become old favourites — performed with soul and passion enthusiasm by a young cast brimming with ability and confidence.
Just one of the musicals showcased dates from before 2003 and the likes of Six, Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen are from Newsies mid-to-late 2010s, so we’re not talking Memory, I Dreamed a Dream or Phantom of the Opera here.
Set in an off-Broadway bar during lockdown, Forbidden Theatre sees a disparate group of theatre hopefuls and old hands reflecting on the highs and lows of life in Theatre Land and taking turns to sing.
There’s a segment for each musical, with between one and three from 15 productions.
I wasn’t familiar with at least half of the songs, and those I knew were injected with fresh vigour and power by RTSA’s prodigious performers.
The solos and duets are universally high-class, to the point where you have to remind yourself these are students, not professionals.
If I had to pick any out, Carys Booth’s moving rendition of He’s My Boy (from ...Jamie) and Roma Cartlidge’s hilarious Sexy (from Mean Girls) would have to be mentioned.
Ciara Stothard’s She Used to Be Mine (from Waitress) is another highlight — breaths are held and tears fought back as she gives a strong sense of her lonely, melancholy character in just a few minutes.
And RTSA veteran Dan Fenwick — cast as the barman in whose watering hole actors meet for banter, beer and balladeering — brings his trademark stage presence and vocal talent to This is the Moment (from Jekyll and Hyde).
The group segments are also a joy. Newsies is all-new to me but the cast’s passion and whirling, energetic dancing (think Dick van Dyke’s rooftop chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins) had me ready to walk out on strike with them in a heartbeat.
The Revolting Children scene from Matilda — driven by the impish, Pennie Fox and — is a lot of fun, too, while Battle of York Town brought a welcome, if rare, dose of hip-hop swagger to the Civic.
The on-stage band are on their game and the bar setting works well as a backdrop for actors to swap stories and relate a little theatre trivia before seguing into the next song.
If I have a quibble, the first act was marred by some crackle, feedback and issues with singers’ sound levels — perhaps a consequence of having a large, swiftly-revolving cast — but this was ironed out after the intervals.
I could have done with another group number to vary the pace during a four-song run of solos and duets, but that feels rather like nit picking.
By the time the closing applause on opening night escalated into a standing ovation, I was looking forward to heading online for another listen to some of my new musical discoveries — and wondering if the pros could do any better than RTSA.
A delighted Dee, whose script, song selections and choreography have brought out the best in her young charges, could be seen in the aisle, beaming.
As well she might be — they’d done her proud.