Spotlight on Showstoppers – Rainhill Village Hall

An evening of energy and laughter with Rainhill Musical Theatre Company and their concert ‘Spotlight on Showstoppers’ which showcases crowd pleasing favourites from old and new musicals.

With a cast of only 10 including wonderful harmonies and performances from Pip Bradshaw, Ruth Gibb and Suzi Davies, they did a tremendous job in keeping us all entertained. A few favourites stood out and had the audience talking from a beautiful ballad of ‘Tell me it’s not true’ performed by Barbara Marsh to lively and upbeat ‘All that Jazz’ confidently performed by Claire Jones. 

Claire Heaton was there to get the audience clapping and singing along with her rendition of 9 to 5 and Meg Charlton and Claire Jones performed ‘What is this feeling?’ from Wicked excellently, it was very entertaining with the right costumes, voices and portrayal of characters. In keeping with a fantastic portrayal, well done to Charlotte Orme for her excellent movement and performance of ‘Doll on a music box’ which was wonderfully accompanied and brought to life by the effective lighting of such a scene.

Choreography by Michelle Williams, Meg Charlton and Claire Jones pulled the performances together well especially in the fantastic and energetic disco medley.

To add an extra twist to tonight’s performance, show their range of skills and show diversity it was amazing to see Claire Jones and Meg Charlton signing ‘Knowing me knowing you’ by Abba, wonderfully backed by the rest of the cast.

Rainhill had a simple but effective set with shimmering curtains, lights and their sign up in lights, showing the stars they are. With a great mixture of media by combining a projector (Ethan Fitzgeorge) and screen for full audience participation and information. It was great to hear the little snippets about Rainhill throughout the show and the audience did love to sing along with the lyrics available, even sometimes when they weren’t as they did with High Hopes by Ryan Greenall, yet another audience favourite.

The costumes were uniform and suitable for their use, with everyone showing equal presence on the stage and being slightly modified by accessories and wigs for different sets.

The sound (Kelsey Fulton) was adjusted accordingly throughout the performance to continuously make sure all performers were heard. With musical backing tracks and single handedly accompanied by the very talented Wayne Oakes. Lighting (Karen Woods) was effective throughout the show but particularly in poignant staging at the end of Bohemian Rhapsody. The company, lighting, sound and music all worked together fantastically under the management of Andy Pink.

And despite opening night glitches and a few minor mistakes it did not take away from the wonderful harmonies especially within the Sound of Music set amongst many others. It was an enjoyable and inclusive night for everyone, and they deserve to have raised a lot of money for their fundraiser as the hard work and dedication really shone through. Thank you Rainhill for an evening of music, smiles and energy.

Reviewer: Stephanie Wiswall

Reviewed: 17th January 2025

North West End UK Rating: