It’s A Wonderful Life – St George’s Hall

Having completed a two-week run at Liverpool’s Royal Court Studio and with the bells well and truly ringing, Old Fruit Jar Productions turned to St George’s Hall to spread the festive magic of this delightful tearjerker production a little further.

Christmas Eve, 1946 and down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey (Robbie Fletcher-Hill)) feels life has passed him by, and he’s at the end of his tether, so angels Joseph (Andrew Johnson) and Gloria (Faye Griffiths) decide to send a fledgling guardian angel, Clarence (Jordan Barkley) to earn his wings, but if he is going to be of any help, he needs to understand who George truly is: the young boy at play with brother Harry (Anthony Roberts) and friend Sam (Taona Matope)? Or the young man distracted by the attractions of Violet (Rachel McGrath) and Mary (Florence King) whilst he works for Mr Gower (Josh Ennis)?

Perhaps the budding businessman working with his Uncle Billy (Ennis), making a difference to the lives of locals including Bert the Cop (Sean Radford) and Mr Martini (Matope), in contrast to the exploitative Potter (Luke Seddon)? Or maybe he’s a family man: well, when Harry brings home bride Ruth (Sienna Morris), it’s only natural that George will follow suit, which really leaves only one further question: is there enough time left for Clarence to show George that maybe it’s a wonderful life after all…

Christopher McCourt’s superbly concise set design transports us to Bedford Falls where his clever staging brings it to life and a discrete use of props allows the cast to seamlessly move between locations, complemented by subtle lighting and sound design from Phil Dickinson and Miriam Bell with great use of projection including falling snow to embellish the scenes.

King’s original music accompaniment complements the mood and emotion and her vocal combined with Griffiths, McGrath, and Morris in both acts was quite moving, with the ensemble conclusion bringing a tear to many an eye and a deserved standing ovation.

It’s a great piece of writing but to deliver the emotional punch you need exceptional performances, and we get that here in droves.

Johnson and Griffiths serve up believable angels working with limited resources, and both effortlessly step into ensemble roles, as does Morris for whom I must make a special mention: as understudy for Mary, she was required to stand in on the penultimate evening at Royal Court, where her accomplished performance meant you would not have guessed it was her debut.

Roberts’ wholesome performance grew Harry from zero to hero, whilst Radford’s warmth and attention to detail really brought Bert to life. McGrath perfectly captured the flirty Violet with a strong solo vocal performance at the high school prom, whilst Seddon’s use of a distinct accent for Potter highlighted he was from out of town whilst his balanced performance embodied the nastiness of the character without turning it into comedy.

Matope had the challenge of playing two distinct main roles and did so with enthusiasm, bringing the audience along every step of the way. Ennis was faced with a similar conundrum with two contrasting but reserved characters that he performed with ease, highlighting what a fine actor he is given these were markedly different roles to those I have seen him play before.

The presence of Clarence can easily lose or confuse an audience, but Barkley delivered with aplomb, injecting the right amount of sincerity and humour for the audience to follow and engage with, whilst King performed with softness and sweetness to embody Mary, whilst performing a beautiful lead vocal on In The Bleak Midwinter.

Fletcher-Hill was superb as George, wringing every emotion at every turn in a powerful performance that had the audience on the edge of its seats, and made all the more authentic by his consummate attention to detail throughout which is no easy task.

Irrespective of how good the instruments are in an orchestra, you need a maestro to make them sing as one and director Alex Carr has excelled yet again with this outstanding production that further reinforces his impressive reputation: with sell-out runs in two distinct venues, this deserves to become a festive season staple in Liverpool for years to come.

This production of It’s A Wonderful Life is dedicated to Bebe King and the children, families, and emergency workers affected by the incident in Southport earlier this year. Donations for the Snowdrop Unit at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/page/ofj-alderhey

Reviewer: Mark Davoren

Reviewed: 13^th December 2024

North West End UK Rating: