The Mayflower, Southampton – until 17th June 2107. Reviewed by Karen Millington-Burnet
Wow…just wow! Sister Act is fantastic. A high octane performance from a hugely talented and multi-skilled cast with a strong supporting crew and great story; we were blown away.
We arrived in Southampton to be greeted by a panoply of large, plastic, coloured snails; very imaginative, though the message was lost on us… Craig Revel Horwood’s message was not – Sister Act is a hugely impressive production and not to be missed – the snails can’t be!
What a cast: Alexandra Burke’s Deloris was powerful and convincing with a fabulously strong voice and a great range. She bestrode the stage with huge confidence and talent – truly the Man of the Match; it is a mark of her mastery of her craft that she worked the performance with her co-stars with such assurance. Karen Mann’s Mother Superior brought great sympathy to the stage with her sadness and emotional journey to conversion, though at one stage I did suspect Herbert Lom’s Inspector Dreyfus (of Pink Panther fame) had stepped onto the stage, such was her frustration at dealing with the burden of Deloris placed upon her, ostensibly to be tested by her God! I couldn’t help feeling Aaron Lee Lambert’s Curtis undersold himself; he has a great voice and I would have loved to hear more from him. However, Alice Stokoe’s Sister Mary Robert more than made up for this omission with a wonderful performance, singing and dancing her way into all our hearts with a great joie de vivre. Joe Vetch’s Eddie took me by surprise; I wasn’t ready for his ability, from John Travolta to Patrick Swayze… thoroughly enjoyable.
I was captivated by the gyrating hip-work of Ricky Rojas, Samuel Morgan-Grahame and Sandy Grigelis; wonderfully camp and over the top comedy and a few scene-stealing moments. Over all, the cast blew me away: huge singing, performing and instrumental talent from almost the entire body… hugely impressive (though, just watch out where the violin bow goes if standing too close in the line-up!). How lovely to see so much of the instrumental music coming from the cast, underlining the talent which we get in Southampton time and time again. And, pleasingly, this Company “get” American accents. So many English actors end up with a Cook’s Tour of the mid-West; tonight they nailed it.
For once the Mayflower got the lighting just right and the scenery was just great: cunning, well drilled and beautifully presented. The sound in the Mayflower hasn’t got any better and the clarity of the cast gets lost in what I guess are ageing speakers; frustrating at best. At times it can be really good, but when it comes to more complicated arrangements the clarity just goes.
We sat in the Dress Circle this time and had a great view: I have really come to love the Mayflower theatre for it’s architecture, curiously (and unnecessarily?) convoluted passages and seating, but I am convinced the Stalls are better for immersing oneself in the performance.
All said and done, yet another great night out and top marks to the Mayflower, cast and crew….thank you; one of the best performances we have seen all year.