General

There’s a certain sense of unease (and occasionally dread) that comes across some audience members as a musical self-describing as a “pop opera”, notably full of high school angst, approaches. No matter how well-written these shows are, they often tend to be directed and performed with a heavy hand, leading to an evening of painful, self-absorbed tedium. While bare wrestles with some serious subject matter, it’s thrilling (and relieving) to report that this production by Centre Stage was nothing of the sort, providing a very high-quality evening of entertaining and thoughtful theatre.

Direction

The directing duo of Suriyah Rashid and Stephen Mitchell wisely focused on storytelling and character relationships, which is exactly what this show needed. As a result, this was a show that was easy to watch – it didn’t ask its audience to suspend belief; it simply and honestly laid out the story, and let the audience absorb the themes and enjoy the performances.

Blocking was very clear, with a lot of thought clearly going into how the world of the play could be fully built out without crowding the stage or distracting from the central action. This was enhanced through strong characterisation across the board, with each cast member maintaining a clear character across the show, including through scene transitions and set changes, which were handled effectively. Overall, this was very accomplished direction, and a delight to watch unfold.

Credit also needs to be given here to Kimberley Barker who clearly worked hard as Intimacy Coordinator to create a safe environment in which the cast felt very comfortable. There are plenty of moments in bare that can’t be achieved without an incredibly high level of trust, and the success of these moments is testament to how expertly this trust was instilled in the cast.

Choreography

Ethea Jasmine Lee’s choreography for this piece ran through a range of styles, all of which worked were appropriate to the score and served excellently to tell the story. The larger ensemble numbers were well- tuned to the abilities of the cast, with plenty given to show off the talents of the featured dancers. The more lyrical numbers showed a great deal of sensitivity and focused heavily on character, which was particularly effective.

Musical Direction

Importantly for a pop musical, this production sounded fantastic. Under Will Gaines’ musical direction, the band completely understood the assignment here and went for it. Similarly, the cast was coached to some excellent harmonies, and solos that were sung as well as acted beautifully.

Cast

This was a superb cast across the board, anchored by some outstanding performances. Jack Kenny and

Josh Yeardley both delivered well-crafted, truthful performances as Peter and Jason. These were both

lived-in characters with genuine inner lives, and it was a joy to see them both traverse these huge character arcs. Jack’s Peter was emotionally raw and unafraid to express himself, while at the same time worried about the strength of his feelings for Jason. Meanwhile, Josh showed Jason to be putting up a strong front, all the while disguising an overwhelming uncertainty towards the consequences of his actions. It was unclear as to whether he intended his final outcome, but that seemed to be an intentional factor of the script. These were two highly-nuanced performances that made the show work.

Elysia Boyle absolutely shone as Ivy, giving the character a gossip-resistant mask in the earlier part of the story, only for it be shattered in the latter part as the reality of her situation set in. Ivy’s roommate Nadia was a more open book, but played no less excellently by Katie Thacker. The conflicting temperaments of these two characters was very well portrayed and, while each had their own heartbreaking solos which were extremely good, the moment where they came together as Nadia understood what Ivy was trying to tell her was a highlight of the piece.

Matt is an extremely complex role, and Charlie William Nicholas was more than up to the challenge, showing tension between Matt’s selfishness and a desire to do what he thought was the right thing.

Justine Matthew was a highlight as local apothecary Lucas, and their rap skills were an unexpected but much welcomed treat.

Casting a dubious eye over the teenage characters were Ashton Charge as the Priest and Anita Hammerton-Reid as Sister Chantelle. Both were very strong performances, with the Priest enforcing the rigor of the church and Chantelle taking a more empathetic approach. Anita’s appearance as Mary was a brilliant fever dream, although dialogue was occasionally hard to make out due to a very hasty delivery. Meanwhile, Imogen Leland gave a heartfelt performance as a conflicted mother attempting to work through a series of events for which she isn’t particularly well equipped, and brought some excellent vocals to it in the process.

The ensemble of this show should also be very highly commended. The individuality of the characters was apparent and consistent throughout, and the strong teamwork demonstrated made for a cohesive, slick performance. Talent levels were also extremely high, with particular recognition to the brilliantly energetic featured dancers, and to the powerhouse featured singers, Heather Daniel and Bex Evans.

Production

This was a gem of a production by Producer Ranga Jayaratne and Production Manager Giles Burden. Between them they assembled a fantastic crew who clearly worked as an integrated team to achieve a truly delightful result.

Costumes

This was a smart costume design by Ayushi Srivastava (with coordination by Ranga Jayaratne and styling by Geri Hutyan) which firmly set the show in a Catholic boarding school via a clear uniform, while allowing each of the teenage characters enough variation to demonstrate their individuality. This was emphasised in the nightclub scene, which showed the characters in their own choice of clothes, and contrasted with the final sequences which genuinely felt like the wardrobe of a school production. The only thing that broke the illusion was the unlikely number of visible tattoos on the students of such a strict school, and more of an attempt to cover them up may have helped here.

Set

This was a functional, effective set put together by the production team, in consultation with Mark Steward. It was great to see the arches from a previous production put to excellent use to evoke a formal, church-like atmosphere within the space. Two large platforms serving as beds, pulpits and, by the end, another stage, were effectively used and far less awkward than they initially appeared. The back wall was

adorned with small neon crosses, which were eventually dominated by a large cross in the final moments of the show, which was effective and demonstrated excellent coordination with the lighting department.

Stage Management

This was a very slick show, thanks to Stage Manager Charlotte Murray and her team. It’s a show with a lot of moving parts, but the audience was oblivious to any chaos happening backstage. Even the usual Bridewell problem of a banging dressing room door was minimised, which was impressive.

Sound

This was an impressive mix by Pranav Mahesh, who ensured that a strong rock/pop vibe was felt by the audience, while at the same time keeping the vocals audible. Something to watch in the future is microphone placement – many cast members seemed to have capsules pointing upwards, which sometimes led to a nasal quality in the vocals, and which could have been easily fixed by pointing them more towards the lower lip or chin.

Lighting

Tash Boret has become a very familiar name in these reports, and again did an excellent job here in a lighting design that stayed true to the style of the show, while working well with the creative and set teams to create the story’s various locations. The design’s liberal use of colour was well contrasted with a starker white in some of the rawer moments, and a more natural state of bedrooms and classrooms where appropriate, always lifting the production and working in well with the blocking to tell the story.

Programme & Publicity

Publicity for this show was very well-handled by Graphic Designer Alvaro Blecua and Marketing Lead Charlie Nicholas. Some excellent assets were created for use across social media, using impressive publicity shots by Esther Lee and a very slick promo video. Cast takeovers were also very engaging, generating plenty of behind the scenes content to build anticipation.

The programme was also a well-crafted piece, which felt like a real-world incarnation and extension of the social media collateral. There were a few sections where the very fine, almost transparent font made it difficult to read in a dark theatre, but that’s always tricky to judge before printing. It would have been great to see a bit more about the approach of the creative team, but otherwise this was a nice souvenir for the audience.

Front of House

It was lovely to be greeted by a couple of familiar Centre Stage faces, who did an excellent job of welcoming the audience and serving up prosecco at interval (for those partaking).

Summary

This was an excellent production that left the audience feeling uplifted despite the heavy subject matter. Focus was thoroughly on character and storytelling, and this made for an engaging, entertaining performance. A wealth of talent across the board ensured that this difficult piece was made accessible without losing any of its impact, and the tech teams clearly worked well together to create a cohesive whole.

Matt Bentley

NODA London Regional Representative District 1

City & Central London