Gang Show 2005 Press Review
 Now
that's what I call entertainment!
DOES anybody
else fill Eden Court's stage with so many performers and so many
colourful costumes? Does any show generate as much excitement and as
much pleasure? Does any company display such enthusiasm and such
unaffected charm?
I don't
think so - and standards previously set are exceeded by the present
Inverness Area Gang Show which finishes a four-night run tomorrow
(Saturday). This fast-moving spectacle brought the first night
audience to its feet and had them cheering - and how producer Derek
Gardiner, the 133 members of his Gang and the unseen army of
backstage helpers deserved it!
From the
opening selection of show tunes which introduced the entire Gang,
dressed in red or white T-shirts and black slacks, to the
traditional finale when serried ranks of uniformed Cubs, Scouts and
Guides reprised a couple of tunes from the show, a couple of Ralph
Reader songs and a spine-tingling version of Freddie And The
Dreamers' hit, "I Understand Just How You Feel", with the Cubs
parading into the auditorium to link hands for its "Auld Lang Syne"
counter-melody and nine year-old Cameron Smith of Crown Cubs stepped
forward to sing the verse to "These Are the Times", this was a show
with a feel-good factor that shot right off the scale.
There were
comic sketches performed with equal aplomb by leaders and kids. Gang
Show veterans Russell Lees and Iain MacDonald even got laughs when
they didn't get laughs - but the quartet of girls were just as
assured when they lamented "What's The Matter With Boys?". The
projection and timing of the young trio who performed this year's
"Three Of A Kind" routine was just as impressive - and the Cubs'
Robin Hood skit was full of witty lines and winning performances.
Other
highlights were the production numbers "Eastern Promise" - a
sequinned, spangled spectacle that involved the entire Gang and
lived up to its title, a musical tour of the United States, a funky
selection of pop hits from "Dirty Dancing", a drainpipe-trousered
tribute to Showaddywaddy and three novelties - the ghostly
'"Variations" dance routine, the percussive "We Got Rhythm" and the
knockabout "Hoedown".
The producer
has a fondness for show-tunes but he also has a knack for picking
pop songs like "Hey Baby!" that the Gang immediately relate to and
he capitalised on the presence of Stephanie Smith, a trained dancer
who not only led the poised dance routines but soloed with balletic
grace in "Eastern Promise" and "Hoedown".
Her lissome
team looked and acted the part of the famous Tiller Girls in
"Curtain Up" and were equally impressive as the sinuous Siamese
troupe in "Eastern Promise".
Indeed,
choreographer Fiona Riddell brought the dance element to its highest
level in this edition of the Gang Show and trained the entire
company in some basic moves which were performed with precision and
added immeasurably to "We've Got Rhythm'" and "Showaddywaddy Time".
Now, how do
you follow that?
Article reproduced courtesy of the Inverness Courier, 08/04/05.
Amendments have been made to this article, such as name-corrections. |
