Could it be Magic? : RGS Delivers an Unforgettable Performance of The Band
Take That once famously asked “Could it be magic?” Judging by the smiles on the faces of the audience leaving The Performing Arts Centre this week after the latest RGS musical, The Band, the answer is a resounding, yes!
The musical follows the story of five 16-year-old schoolgirls in 1992 who are obsessed with their favourite boyband, known simply as ‘The Band’. This is, of course, a thinly disguised version of Take That, whose greatest hits feature throughout the show. The story then jumps twenty-five years later, showing the same five girls, now adults, who have drifted apart. They reunite for one life-changing weekend to see their idols perform in concert one last time, forcing them to confront their past and their present lives. It is a hugely enjoyable and entertaining story about friendship, growing up, memory, and the enduring power of music.
The production was pitch perfect and jam-packed with absolute bangers from start to finish courtesy of Gary Barlow, the band and all the performers. The energy generated was infectious and thrilled the audience from the very first note. The production involved two casts on different nights, and all truly excelled in their roles. Inevitably, the spotlight falls on some of the bigger roles. The five boys playing The Band were fabulous, with their different voices complementing each other well. This also allowed them to cover the different range and variety needed to perform Gary Barlow’s music. There were several impressive solos throughout, while some of the songs were very demanding in terms of harmonic structure and range. Huge credit goes to Arthur, Callum, Kieran, Alex (great ‘worm’ by the way) and James for the quality of their singing, as well as to Mr Conway and Mrs Tilling for their amazing work as the show’s musical and vocal directors. The choruses were just as impressive, a sign of the depth of vocal talent the School has developed.
All the performers playing the younger girls drew out the intimacy and closeness of their friendship, as well as each girl’s individual character. They delivered some great comic dialogue, but showed impressive range when needing to explore the friends’ growing fragmentation in scenes requiring more emotional rawness. Daisy Jenkinson was both funny and confident as the young Heather, a performance that was well-matched by Emily Jackson’s assured portrayal of Young Rachel. Ridhima Canchi, Izzy Fawcett and Grace Norris were all superb as the three remaining young friends: all captured that deep irreplaceable love and loyalty that lies beneath the banter bandied about out by teenage friends.
The same can be said in equal measure of Lilah Morgan, Audrey Wise, Eva Davies, Verity Bond Evans and Eloise Austin-Ginger, who played the girls on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Once again, each performer captured each friend’s distinct character. Eloise was great as the lively and fun-loving Debbie; Verity was a wonderful, free-spirited and adventurous Heather; Eva marvellously conveyed Claire’s deep loyalty to the group, as well as her more anxious and less secure nature; Audrey (playing Zoe) was wonderful as a more earnest and sensible counterpart to her friends’ recklessness, while Lilah was excellent in conveying Rachel’s idealism and determination to keep the group together.
All the performances from the actors playing the older girls were impressive. Amelie Lockley and Kitty Hildred played Rachel with emotional depth and well-judged sensitivity to her character’s emptiness and lack of fulfilment. Kez Colhurst and Julia Gebhardt were compelling as Zoe, and both really conveyed her doubt and anxieties as she confronted a life changing helplessly before her. Abigal Walter and Mary Laney were equally impressive as Heather, and both delivered some of the play’s trickiest and funniest monologues with aplomb. It always seems unfair to highlight two particular performances out of so many that were eye-catching, but you could feel the audience connect with Becca Gardener and Rachel Crookall’s portrayal of the vulnerable and uncertain Claire who is struggling with her stalled and anxious life ‘stuck in the same house near the same Co-Op’ as she was in twenty-five years before. Both were funny and sympathetic and Becca’s accent would have made Victoria Wood proud.
The show’s energy and musical brilliance owed a lot to the ensemble members, with every performer making strong contributions to the marvellous chorus scenes. Enormous credit also goes to Ollie Jukes for playing a range of roles (cantankerous bus-driver, officious Prague policeman and more) with such versatility, while both Thomas Pound and Dominic Chamberlain were funny and endearing as Jeff.
Visually, the show was a triumph – the 90s costumes were superb, perfectly capturing the era and adding a huge element of nostalgia and celebration to the production. The choreography was energetic and dynamic; the set was cleverly conceived: the transitions from teenage bedroom to late night bus, to concert stadium, to airport, to Prague were seamless and slick. Well done to all back-stage and at the lighting deck! And well done of course to Mrs Witcomb for another superb choice, for inspiring all involved and bringing it all together.
Beyond the impressive technical and vocal achievements, the production was enormously great fun, but at times genuinely moving. The moments focusing on the bond between the girls were played with sincerity and subtlety. Both casts created several truly poignant moments that resonated deeply with the audience. A standout scene in both performances was the final balloon scene. This was acted with such emotional depth that it had one English teacher in tears (I can’t say who this was of course). It proved to be a powerful and unforgettable moment of the show!
As well as this poignancy, you could tell that throughout the evening there were a great many RGS mums who were desperately trying as hard as they possibly could not to stand up and simply sing along and relive their own teenage infatuations. I strongly suspect that by the final night many will have thrown caution to the wind, such was the joyful exuberance and sheer delight this production conjured. The finale, it must be said, was absolutely spectacular – an uplifting and exhilarating explosion of nostalgic joy. Yes boys, truly magic!
To end with some words borrowed and adapted from one of Take That’s finest songs, you could see the light on every face and this production really did Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!
Mr N Phillips, Head of English
