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Review of Wrington Youth Drama's 'A Night at the Musicals' Take the colourful gift of our precious children; add a large sheet of the nostalgia-faded wrapping paper that is our combined childhood's musical memories - and what do you get? A wonderful musical brazier, full of dance's flame, song's fragrant chestnuts, drawing the crowds out of the cold into its crackling warmth, created with such humanity and brilliance by Julie Kingcott, Carolyn Guiness and Lisa Lipman. Let us first pick Lisa Lipman's script carefully from the heat, and watch it uncurl in all its taut and fascinating beauty. Lively it was, at all times, and funny too, as we were invited to, '...stamp, sashay and swing into one of the best loved musicals...'   Quirky facts popped up regularly: I, for one, had no idea that 'Mary Poppins' had been filmed entirely in California. And now let us watch the myriad chestnuts tumbling from their paper bag: the children, our true wealth in this world. What a tribute to the human spirit their performance was, as they sang, danced and acted their way through numbers from 'Oliver', 'Little Shop of Horrors', 'Mary Poppins' and 'The Sound of Music.'  I think, with great warmth, of the superbly choreographed 'Let's Go Fly a Kite', the girls all in black and pink, the graceful swaying of those lovely pink kites and the memories of Julie Andrews singing the song in the 1960s film. I think also of the exuberant rendition of 'Chim Chiminy' and that phalanx of boys, in black with red braces, hefting their brushes and singing with such gusto. The ensemble work was extremely good - a sure sign of inspirational coaching by the three ladies mentioned above, and the enthusiasm of Wrington's young people.  Whether grimed up and paled down as hungry orphans in 'Oliver' or sweetly adorned with green and white headscarves in 'The Sound of Music', they gave immense pleasure to the hosts of proud parents and grandparents. The soloists flame into view now in all their blinding effulgence: from April Kirby's lovely contralto singing of 'As Long As He Needs Me' to George Blundell's endearingly forlorn 'Where is love?',  from Nellie Whittam's lovely ' My Favourite Things' to Tom Henry's 'Eidelweiss', they rinsed and rang with sound. Three burned a little brighter, however:  firstly, Emma Jervis and her powerfully moving 'Feed The Birds' sung in that extraordinary voice - it reduced me to tears, and I suspect I may not have been alone there; secondly, Nina Halper - such a strong stage presence: lovely voice,  great acting, expressive face, excellent diction and utterly consistent American accent when singing 'Audrey's Dreams'... and, thirdly, William Maitland-Round: what a fabulous all-round performer he is - cheeky, endearing,  clear of voice, leading the younger ones with benevolent authority. All three were a pleasure to watch; all three will, I am sure, go far. Pianist Alison Blundell coped magnificently with the diverse musical demands put upon her - and the technical crew managed to create an illusion of ease as they lit the stage, moved the props and supported the performers. The central fire source, however, and the point of the whole evening, was Julie, Carolyn and Lisa's vision, their ability to communicate it to the children and the audience - and their willingness to share the fruits of the performance with Georgie Agar, Jasmine Stockham and Martha Graham. Georgie, an engaging compère, showed very clearly the total commitment shared by all three. 'A Night at the Musicals' showed all that is best and most heartfelt about this lovely village and its people. Alienora Taylor, 10th May 2012                                                                                                         ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Wrington Youth Drama stages another show-stopping performance of their sell-out musical hits It was a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious night for Wrington Drama Group with a repeat performance of their sell-out hit musical medleys show in the Chapel on Tuesday (May 29th). Under the superb direction of artist Julie Kingscott 30 children aged five to 18 belted out hit songs from Oliver, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Lisa Halper played a strong supporting role with her innovative script writing and direction of hits from the Little Shop of Horrors. The two performances helped raised more than £400 towards the £3,000 needed by cast members Martha Graham, 18, Jasmine Stockham, 17, and Georgie Agar, 17, who are heading for Calcutta, India in July to work with street children. You could have heard a pin drop when angelic blonde 7 year-old George Blundell sang Oliver Twist's 'Where is Love'. Fagin was played with cool menace by Martha Graham, 18 and William Maitland-Round zipped from cruel Beadle to evil Sykes and a jolly chimney sweep with confident ease. Other soloists were talented April Kirby, 16, as downtrodden Sykes' broken girlfriend singing 'He Needs Me' and her Sound of Music's joyful Maria 'Do Ray Me' was a joy. Nellie Whittam, 8, gave a heartfelt rendition of 'My Favourite Things'. Emma Jarvis, 10 and Nina Halper, 11, deserve special praise for the way they made the audience hold their breath and are sure to go far with their pitch perfect voices. They were supported by a super-keen cast of up and coming actors who have brilliant mentors to guide them. You'd be hard pushed to find a professional troupe better than these. They've all worked incredibly hard and the show could not have been done without the talented pianist Alison Blundell. Julie started Wrington Drama Group 18 years ago with 7 children. Up to now, 75 have taken to the stage. Now she's starting to see the children of children and under her wing Wrington Drama group is truly supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. For more information on Wrington Drama Group contact julie@juliekingcott.com Melanie Greenwood 4th June, 2012