As NK Theatre Arts do not currently have access to their home venue at the Romiley Forum, this production was staged at the hall at Castle Hill School. This meant that instead of their usual capacity of close on 300 seats, there was an audience of only about 50 people, but those that did attend were treated to an excellent interpretation of Willy Russell’s comedy about a group of Liverpool’s underprivileged children on a day out from their normal classes exploring the countryside of North Wales.
The director described this production as an “Informal Show”, which is perhaps doing it a bit of an injustice as everything about it was done in an extremely professional manner. The date of the production has changed a number of times which necessitated a number of changes in the cast, but these were all done quite seamlessly, showing the versatility of the director himself who was obliged to take on 4 different roles on the night – complete with 4 different accents!
The main action took place within a number of plastic chairs laid out in the shape of a bus. Teachers at the front, pupils towards the back. Even without microphones it was easy to hear all the dialogue from both adults and children, and I commend the diction of all the cast members. Also, they all manged to put on superb Liverpool accents without losing any clarity of speech. Was it a deliberate ploy to have the teacher and trip organiser Mrs Kaye (ably played by Jeannie Davies) sitting on the bus reading “The OFSTED murders” to while away the time?
I loved how the relationships between the different characters developed throughout the course of the production. To me, this showed what an incredibly talented group of young people this theatre group has at its disposal. Their singing of the “Mersey Tunnel” song and Maddie Bates and Olivia Barton (playing the cheeky, flirtatious Linda Crossley) accompanied on guitar by Sam Hardman, professing their love for “Sir” was a joy to hear. It’s impossible for me to highlight all the cast as without exception they performed to the highest standard and were a credit to their tutors. Congratulations also to all the people backstage who ensured that the performance ran smoothly. However, for me, one of the outstanding performances of the night came from Skye Reilly playing the part of Carol Chandler, what an outstanding cameo role that turned out to be, very well done.
The most hilarious part of the story for me was when the children took time out to visit the zoo – and ended up making off with all the animals, including a real live snake!
This production only ran for 2 nights, so it would be pointless of me to recommend that you go along to see it – because it will be too late! What I would say is that if the opportunity presents itself, try to catch one of NK’s forthcoming productions, which will be held at the New Mills Art Theatre during April / May / June. I’m sure they will be well advertised prior to the events.
In conclusion, I guess the only thing I can say is – “Boring it ain’t!”
Directed by Dominic Stannage. Written by Willy Russell with songs by Bob Eaton, Chris Mellor and Willy Russell.
Reviewer: David S Clarke
Reviewed: 31st January 2024.
North West End UK Rating: