Reviews

This production has been stripped down to the bare essentials which, in a way, has taken the gloss off what could be a great experience.

I could not understand what it was all about until I got home and had time to read the comment on each song. Had these preceded each item as surtitles or commentary, with perhaps the use of a hat, scarf or prop it would have enhanced the experience of the production.

With the Musical Direction in the capable hands of Javeenbah Stalwart, Rachel Love, the show had pace but that alone was not sufficient to entertain.

When I review a show, I do so, on the merits of the performance I witness and am not influenced by comments from those connected to the production.

Breast Wishes shares the trials and tribulations of the female mammary glands and of those whose lives are affected in one-way or another. Breasts conjure up a variety of thoughts (the haves and have-nots) in different people and this show explores all of those “points”.

With bales of hay on each side of the proscenium arch and dances of the hoedown and square dance variety, SQUIDS effectively brought the bucolic charm of Oklahoma!’s turn-of-the-century story to life. We all knew Rodgers and Hammerstein’s score as a classic of the Broadway musical theatre, but in this production it was Hammerstein’s book adaptation which deserved the laurels.

Every now and again theatre companies such as the Genesian, that usually produce dramas, decide to indulge in a musical. Not necessarily one that is well known nor one that requires a large cast, a multi-piece band or a big stage – but a musical, nevertheless. Our House is that sort of musical. It can be staged with a small cast (fourteen in this production), has relatively uncomplicated music (which could easily be have been recorded to disc rather than using a live band); and the action can be adapted to a smaller stage.