After a long, tiring day at work and then travelling straight to Ferndown in the pouring rain I was so hoping this musical performed by P&P was going to be worth it.
Godspell is not a musical I am familiar with only knowing it is based around the stories of the Bible and not being overly religious I was sceptical as to whether or not I would enjoy it but wow! I was blown away.
This production, directed by Jo Legg and choreographed by Leanne Holland, was all you could hope for in a musical and with Chris McDoull as MD the P&P cast didn’t put a foot or note wrong.
Chris Stowe took on the tough role as Jesus with ease, showing strong character and effortless vocals complete with all emotion required for the role, he was perfectly cast.
Alex Beck as Judus was another standout performer with wonderful characterisation and vocals to match.
All members of ‘The Ten’ were fabulous, each one of them finding their own characters and bringing them to life. Special mention, though, must go to Leonie Beck and Katherine Steel as Lamar and Joanne. Along with all the principals, each member of the ensemble fully immersed themselves and it was clear that every single person on that stage wanted to be there.
The highlights of the show for me were the puppetry scene and the ‘All For The Best’ number.
The choreography was slick, costumes were colourful and fun and the scenery, although minimal, was perfect.
My only criticism would be that sometimes it was difficult to hear some of the vocals as a couple of microphones came across muffled.
Godspell runs until Saturday at the Barrington Theatre with shows every evening at 7.30pm and a 2pm matinee on Saturday.
You do not need to be religious to enjoy this show so if you haven’t got a ticket yet then do! You don’t want to miss this fantastic musical.
