St Nicolas Players

Review by Trish Burgess

 

‘Who were you with last night, out in the pale moonlight?’

 

I was in the audience at the Moulton Community Centre watching St Nicolas Players present Music Hall Memories. I say ‘present’ but the word hardly does justice to the way the performers engaged and entranced everyone with a colourful, joyous selection of songs and tales.

 

Jules Jones and Anne Temple are to be commended for having the idea in the first place and bringing it to life with such a talented group of entertainers. They were also central to the show, cheering the crowd with their solos and, one of my favourite numbers of the night, the duet ‘She’d Never Been There Before’ as cleaners Gert and Elsie Clutterbuck.

 

The Music Hall genre is a great way to showcase the talent in the society, as so many people take a turn. And goodness, did they have some great turns: Jane Fulford’s pure soprano voice; Norman Parish’s mellifluous tenor; Nick Fletcher’s engaging black humour and Martin Tyrrell’s poignant storytelling.

 

The ensemble were lively and encouraged the audience to join in with the chorus numbers. They also had the opportunity to shine with short solo performances or in small groups such as ‘Under The Bed’.

 

Master of Ceremonies was Peter Breach, resplendent in top hat, tails and cape, armed with a huge selection of gloriously silly jokes which the audience lapped up with glee. The pianists, Jacqueline Kemp and Liz Mackay, were the perfect accompaniment for the singers as they could stop and start for laughter and ad-libs.

 

What transformed this sing-a-long into a full scale production were the excellent costumes. I hadn’t expected such an array of outfits from Pearly Kings and Queens through to Pierrots and old-fashioned bathing costumes. Individuals were also perfectly dressed in uniforms, dresses and summer blazers: the attention to detail was excellent.

 

Being in the audience in Moulton I was aware of everyone around me singing their hearts out, laughing and cheering. This was old-fashioned entertainment with variety, nostalgia and a little bit of naughtiness thrown in for good measure.

 

Congratulations to everyone involved, front and backstage. I hope you are all keen to repeat the experience as I think you will be inundated with requests for an encore. You are onto a winner.

 

Trish Burgess