Civic Theatre, Darlington – 14 January 2016
Returning to Darlington, in their 17th year of touring, Beyond the Barricades played to a full house at the Civic.
The show began with a medley of songs from Miss Saigon. It started with the fast paced ‘The Heat is On’ and moved subtly into a couple of the slower and more moving Bui Doi. Then followed a medley from Phantom Of the Opera before suddenly stepping right back in time with Rebecca Vere singing ‘If I loved you’ from Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Carousel, at which the woman sat next to me was genuinely moved to tears
The show is made up of four singers – David Fawcett, who introduces each section, Andy Reiss, who puts the show together and plays keyboard, Rebecca Vere and Katie Leeming – and they don’t just have impeccable voices in common, they have all played principals in Les Miserables.
From West Side Story sung brilliantly so to a compilation of Juke Box musical numbers from We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia the quartet showed their talent and versatility.
Andy and Katie duetted from the Little Shop of Horrors and Fawcett and Vere had the audience laughing uproariously with their rendition of ‘A Song That Goes Like This’ from Spamalot. Showing the comedy in their music as well as the serious. From Jesus Christ Superstar to Spamalot in one sow
The group finished with songs from Les Miserable section and you get what you expect from this quality line-up. From Rebecca’s ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ and Katie’s ‘On My Own’ to David’s ‘Bring Him Home’ and Andy’s ‘Stars’, there is not a wrong note.
But the pièce de résistance is ‘One Day More’ – a song which is normally performed by eight principals, a 25 ensemble and a 40 piece orchestra. Beyond the Barricade has four singers and four musicians – it is simply an astonishing and spectacular performance.
This extended finale, all featuring songs from Les Mis, prompted an encore and loud appreciation from the crowd. The show is terrific entertainment from a versatile and talented group, whose enthusiasm for musical theatre was matched by their talent to share it with an appreciative audience.
Touring around the UK, go and see this outstanding show
http://www.beyondthebarricade.com/tour