Capital Theatres

Bring It On

28/07/23

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

If there’s one word that typifies the Beyond Broadway Experience it’s ‘exhilarating’. This revival of the cheerleader musical Bring It On (loosely based on the film of the same name) may be the most spectacular of their productions we’ve seen yet, with over 250 young performers dancing, singing and acting and even somersaulting across the Festival theatre’s massive stage. At regular intervals they also perform in the boxes and even in the auditorium. Between them, they generate enough energy to power the national grid.

Campbell (Ailsa MacLean) is a high school girl, who lives and breathes for cheerleading. Longing to be appointed captain of the accomplished Truman High School squad, she works alongside her pals, the self-obsessed Skylar (Cora Erskine) and her acolyte, Kylar (Jess Taylor). Meanwhile, the hapless Bridget (Ellen Ekland) keeps on trying out for the team, but she’s currently relegated to the role of Truman’s team mascot, complete with comedy costume.

Campbell’s hopes are cruelly dashed when she finds herself despatched to another local school, an entirely different institution from the bastion of privilege that is Truman. At Jackson High, the very idea of cheerleading is looked on with derision. The only other student from Truman to make the transition to Jackson is Bridget, who is delighted to find that she’s actually popular here. Not so Campbell. The ‘crew’ at Jackson, it turns out, have their own way of dancing and are happy to demonstrate how they think it should be done.

Undeterred, Campbell sets about befriending Jackson’s Queen Bee, Danielle (Rhianna Daley), eventually persuading her to set up their own cheerleading squad and even to go in for the National Finals. However, in order to win Danielle over, Campbell makes some pretty wild claims about the prizes that will be up for grabs, including some much-needed scholarships. And then the truth comes out…

There are some terrific performances here. MacLean has a soaring vocal range and Eklund’s assured clowning is a constant delight. I also enjoy the dorky Randal (Duncan Brown)’s impressive vocal performance but, more than anything else, this is an ensemble piece, and hats must be lifted to the choreography team, who have drilled their massive cast to perfection, enabling them to perform in thrilling, powerhouse set pieces that threaten to lift the roof of the building. The sizeable band show a lot of skill, and pump out the gutsy music with elan.

While this is an amateur production, the boundless talent and supreme dedication displayed by these young performers seems to render the word meaningless. Bring It On is, quite simply, a thrill ride.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

17/02/22

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

There’s no doubt about it: director Candice Edmunds has created something wonderful here. From the first moment, it’s clear we’re in for a spectacle, and the extended opening sequence is an absolute triumph. It’s 1940. A cosy, intimate family scene is devastated by a bomb. The walls come tumbling down, the parents disappear, and three children stand wide-eyed in the chaos of an air-raid. They’re hustled out of London and onto a train. Not a word is spoken. The storm clouds – held aloft on sticks – are two-dimensional cutouts; ditto the train. It’s cheeky and inventive, exactly the sort of unabashed theatricality I adore.

It’s a good job Edmunds is so skilled, because the story – based on the 1971 Disney movie and Mary Norton’s earlier novels – is horribly muddled, a hybrid of whimsy and threat that doesn’t quite work. It always was. Even as a child, I didn’t like Norton’s The Magic Bedknob or Bonfires and Broomsticks. They have neither the light-hearted charm of Mary Poppins nor the gravitas of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

The three orphaned children are Charlie (Conor O’Hara), Carrie (Izabella Bucknell) and Paul (Aidan Oti). They’re evacuated to the remote Dorset village of Pepperinge Eye, where they’re taken in by the mysterious Eglantine Price (Dianne Pilkington). At first mistrustful, their fears are soon assuaged, despite the fact that their newly appointed guardian is an apprentice witch. Because she’s not just any witch, but a witch with a mission: Miss Price is going to stop the Battle of Britain.

Sadly, the writing isn’t strong enough to carry off this coup de théâtre: lurching from a fanciful undersea dance to a terrifying armed encounter just feels odd and unsettling. The historical backdrop to the tale is largely accurate, and then – for no real reason – not. The ending is unnecessarily convoluted. And, The Beautiful Briny aside, the music isn’t the Sherman brothers’ best work either.

Nevertheless, this musical production is beautifully staged and performed – and, viewed as a collection of set pieces, it’s literally fantastic. Kudos to Jamie Harrison, the set and illusion designer: there are so many clever tricks here, and I can’t fathom out how all of them are done. Pilkington is well-cast in the main role, and Charles Brunton’s Emelius Brown exudes loveable ineptitude. Jacqui DuBois’ postmistress/museum curator Mrs Hobday is very funny too.

I love the ensemble work. The puppetry is delightful, and the choreography vibrant and enchanting.

This is a first-rate piece of theatre, too good for a second-rate tale.

3.8 stars

Susan Singfield