'Stars shine in rocking show'

There were several stars of The Sundial Theatre’s recent amateur production of We Will Rock You. The first was the music of Queen which, like all good pop, has not lost its zest. The second was the script by Ben Elton. The story he tells is set in a time when musical instruments are banned. A group of bohemians try to liberate themselves through an ancient mystery called rock music, giving rise to some real Ben Elton one-liners. Of a fabled king, a bohemian asks, “Who was he? All we know is that his name was Pelvis.” You get the picture. The third star of the show was Painswick vocal coach Jenna Monroe. Several of the young actors with lead roles (Iwan Lewis, Lucy Bennett, Pippa Robinson from Nailsworth, Waylon Holloway and Samantha Millard) said that their singing had improved immeasurably after Jenna was brought in five weeks before the show began. Jenna said, “I knew that I couldn’t do much with them in so short a time. I started with a vocal jam and they found me quite wacky. Then we got down to business. I made them work in front of a mirror and I said, ‘Forget about the sound. It needs to feel like this and look like this and the sound will look after itself. Her work obviously had a huge impact because the singing was magnificently strong and helped make up for the dancing, which was sometimes a little weak and clichéd. Still the cast sung and danced and acted their hearts out. Many of them were from the local area but the lead roles were played by Welsh singer Iwan Lewis and Lucy Bennett from Cheltenham, both of whom will be names to watch out for in the future. The final accolade must go to first time producer and director, Andy Webb, who also designed the lighting. He had the vision to put on the show and to encourage the young cast to give of their best. If he can allow himself to be as confident and creative with staging as he is with lighting, there will be no stopping him.

by Anna Parry, Stroud News & Journal
Wednesday May 2nd 2007