UK Theatre Network

UK Productions bring Singin’ In The Rain to a rather wet and windy Glasgow, adding some bright spots to the evening.

There are a number of good points to this current tour of Singin’ In The Rain, but unfortunately these are equalled by a number of bad points. It’s never easy to recreate a film on the stage, especially something as spectacular as the MGM’s Technicolor extravaganza Singin’ In The Rain. The story of the introduction of “talking” pictures into the movie industry had some spectacular set pieces in the film, however, it appears that instead of coming up with an ingenious design to try to recreate that magic, UK Productions have gone cheap and made a rather basic set with very few design features to dazzle. Luckily the enthusiastic and talented ensemble added their own dazzle making the chorus numbers a highlight in this show. Using some very witty choreography, which encomapasses some of the traditional elements you’d expect of Singin’ In The Rain, along with some other clever dance elements, choreographer Graeme Henderson sets out his stall well. The fact he is also playing the role of Cosmo Brown is a testament to his talents. It was only a shame that his own “big number”, Make ‘Em Laugh, was not given the same amount of wit, but I think this was more due to the directed elements than the choreography and performance.

The other principals are all extremely able, however I was disappointed in the rather restrained performances from Tim Flavin and Jessica Punch as the leading man, Don Lockwood and his new love interest and aspiring actress, Kathy Selden. Both these performers are obviously talented, but don’t seem to deliver the full impact required for the leading performances. It seems much of this is down to Alison Pollard’s direction, as the final lead principal, Amy Griffiths playing the beautiful, but gratingly voiced Lina Lamont, seemed to be much the same, until her own “big number”. In this performance of What’s Wrong With Me we got the chance to see that even while playing the “can’t sing, can’t dance and can’t act” Lina, Miss Griffiths can definitely sing, can definitely dance, and uses her fantastic acting ability to hide these great talents throughout the rest of the show!

That said, Mr Flavin and Miss Punch did have moments where they got to show off their performance skills. The character of Kathy Selden does seem to shine during the choral numbers she’s involved in, and stands out during the fantastic set-piece of Good Morning (including the iconic sofa-tipping moment from the movie). This received the longest applause of the evening, as it was a non-stop, high energy dance routine involving the three leads doing what they seemed to do best. Mr Flavin, alongside Mr Henderson, also showed off the fancy footwork during Fit As A Fiddle and Moses Supposes, two high energy numbers with lots of character.

Unfortunately all the low points came together at the end of act 1, with the iconic title number. The rather bland set and lighting design was no more evident than when the “rain” started. One strip of water falling along the front of the stage and a rather lacklustre song and dance from the leading man, meant that this was unfortunately the low point of the show. There were no puddles for the leading man to splash in, and by using the whole stage to dance, he spent so little time in the rain, he was barely damp. If he’d done this number in the rain outside on Hope Street, they could’ve saved a fortune on the rain machine, and created a much better effect!

The live Orchestra (can 7 people really be credited as an Orchestra?) were fantastic and did give a very full sound. Along with the great harmonies from the ensemble, the hummable tunes and showstopping numbers, you can see why although this is probaby the original juke-box musical (Arthur Freed asked Betty Comden and Adolph Green to come up with a show using his best songs), it has managed to stand the test of time. That said, I think UK Productions need to spend some time and money on this classic to give it the performance it deserves.

Listings Info:

Tue 1^st – Sat 5^th June

Tue – Sat eves 7.30pm

Thurs & Sat Mat 2.30pm

Tickets: £12 - £30

Box Office: 0870 060 6647          www.ambassadortickets.com/glasgow