Having been busy with a couple of other shows recently, and the pesky degree, I almost missed out on this. Luckily, I was reminded on the day and I’m very thankful I was. It’s a pretty good way of kicking off the new academic year for Arts & Culture at Durham.
Produced by Tone Deaf Theatre Company, the Freshers’ Showcase at the Assembly Rooms led us on a journey through musical theatre from pre-1960 to the current day, and left the entire audience dazzled. From the opening full cast number ‘Fugue for Tinhorns’ from Guys and Dolls, it was clear there was something special here, but every member of the cast had their own moment throughout and although I wish I could talk about every single one, the highlights will have to do.
From the opening full cast number…it was clear there was something special here
The first solo, ‘Something’s Coming’ from West Side Story, was performed by Louis Williams, with a command of the song and performance that was extremely impressive. Celine Delahaye’s rendition of Oliver’s ‘As Long As He Needs Me’ encompassed both the nostalgia of the musical and a beautifully performed take on the character. Lizzie Dixon’s ‘Rainbow High’ from Evita was astounding, and with the help of Eleanor Murray’s lighting, produced one of the best money shots of the whole show. Ragtime’s ‘Your Daddy’s Son’ performed by Lara Sowande and ‘Say The Word’ from The Mad Ones by Irini Sozomenou just blew me away, both of their voices consistently fantastic across all their performances. The final solos came from Teni Taiwo’s powerful ‘Leave Luanne’ (35MM), which followed a lovely Phantom duet with Lizzie Dixon, and Yasmine Berrada’s wonderfully ‘When He Sees Me’ (Waitress), shifting effortlessly to the gentler song after an energetic Heather’s trio performance of ‘Candy Store’.
But where solos were extraordinary, the full cast performances proved these Freshers are going to be exciting additions to student theatre. ‘Pure Imagination’ (Willy Wonka) and the fantastic ‘Welcome to the Rock’ (Come From Away) were both magical and commanding in turn, but the tingling finale of ‘From Now On’ (The Greatest Showman) secured both proof of their ranges and their ability to work together seamlessly. This can’t only be credited to the cast, however.
The musical director Zac Smith, assisted by Ben Armitage, had managed to guide the cast into refined and engaging vocal performances, able to invoke the beauty, power and emotions of the varied set list having had a very short rehearsal period. This guidance extended to the fantastic band, live on stage, which is always a welcome sight and sound. It would have been nice to see the band in the pit, but knowing the time restraints, the difficulty in dismantling the apron (and the reverse) no doubt made it impossible to fulfil this (speaking from personal experience!).
This guidance extended to the fantastic band, live on stage, which is always a welcome sight and sound
Obviously, shows don’t put themselves together. They take a lot of effort, communication and logistical organisation, and so Producer Charlotte Blair should feel extremely proud of her role supporting the directors and the production team to make the show happen. From casting to show night, co-directors Maggie Grace and Talia Tobias clearly put a lot of creative effort into the production, bringing together a quality cast with an engaging set list, and ensuring a diversity in staging, despite the relative simplicity, that allowed ease of transitions and interaction that kept the show driving onwards. The cast’s emotional connection and understanding of the songs was present from the start, in the more static performances but also choreographically, for which Grace Graham also deserves credit.
Working with the production manager, Anna Brzezinski, and assistant Jonathan Wilson-Downs, the experienced team behind the scenes no doubt allowed the cast to feel comfortable and focus on their performances. In particular, the vocals sounded absolutely wonderful and – excepting a very few moments where there were occasional imbalances – overall avoided the loss of any of those excellent harmonies. Credit for this should go to Sound Supervisor Carlos Davies and the sound team, George Jones and Aniket Garg.
I cannot imagine a better start to both DST’s 25/26 season and the introduction of the soaring new talent in musical theatre. Congratulations to everyone in TDTC for such a great evening.
HEX 
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