At long last we are on stage indoors (we managed some open air shows last Summer). Now Oliver! has dodged all
the obstacles to get to the stage of the Corn Exchange!
We are now back for in-person sessions face to face!!.
This term we will focus on recording the show material for 'Chicago' and 'Joseph'.
We are preparing two open-air shows for the Summer with our Academy
classes: THE HOBBIT and FAIRYTALES DON'T COME TRUE and tickets will go on sale shortly for socially distanced performances in July.
Fingers crossed that we have now said goodbye to the Zoom
era!
Ian
SbS
A NEW MEMBER OF THE TEAM!
Junior Academy will return to live performance this July with open-air performances of THE HOBBIT at our specially-prepared venue in
Chudleigh!
Tickets go on sale 17 May 2021!
What a glorious show at the Corn Exchange!
Three days of mess and mayhem delighted audiences at half
term. With as cast of nearly 80, BUGSY MALONE was big, complicated and technically demanding for the cast, but it paid off with hugely entertaining shows!
Check out the photos in our new gallery!
What an honour!
Stage by Stage has been awarded the Lord
Mayor's Commendation for services to
individuals and the wider community on behalf
of STAGE BY STAGE's 25
years as Exeter's
theatre school.
We felt very humble to stand alongside some
amazing people who work hard to make life
great for the people of Exeter!
A Message from the Directors
So many thank you's after the epic CHILDREN OF EDEN 25th anniversary.
Firstly, thank you to everyone who came to the show: a show without an audience is just a rehearsal.
Secondly thank you to the magnificent chaperone team: so well-organized
and so kind, especially with a huge age range to deal with. Also many many thanks to a production team who are at the very top of their game, including Dominic Jeffery who lit the show, Mike Reddaway
who production managed, Jon Matanle who mixed sound, Riannon Cheffers-Heard who designed and painted the set including the rainbow floor for the fifth
time!
And of course, huge congratulations to the entire cast, all working at a
phenomenal, no, a truly exceptional level. CHILDREN OF EDEN is an ensemble musical about the fact we have to live and work together in harmony to truly prosper: all the members of Stage by Stage
brilliantly demonstrated this truth live on stage. We feel very proud of you all!
Edinburgh 2014
Rave Reviews for
Candide and She Loves Me!!!
Back at the Edinburgh Festival for the 17th year, both our shows received 4-star reviews and great audience responses!!!
CANDIDE
This is a bold, high energy affair. The
well-drilled young actors of Stage by Stage re-tell Voltaire’s classic tale of optimism and despair in just 50 minutes, and while the pace is breakneck, the show is focused and
fun.
There are no weak links in this cast of talented
young people. Alex Zawalynski is a sweet, fresh-faced Candide, suitably bemused as life hurls him from crisis to catastrophe. Erin Santillo delivers an excellent performance as the Old Lady – the
mono-buttocked walk is a particular highlight. Will Trafford makes the most of a small role as Cacambo, Candide’s genre savvy companion, and steals most of the laughs in his scenes. The ensemble
plays its part to the hilt, doing an excellent job of setting the scene and never shying away from the (highly stylised) sex and violence that Candide encounters along the
way.
The staging is simple, relying on nothing more
than hand props and a couple of flats to transport the audience from Schloss Thunder-ten-Tronckh to Lisbon and Latin America. There’s a classy selection of Baroque favourites on the soundtrack, but
most of the sound effects are created by the cast themselves.
The adaptation is robust and high-spirited,
though Voltaire aficionados may not appreciate the decision to cut the story off before the very end. However, in the context of this production, allowing Candide’s story to end on a high note makes
sense and the whole thing is charming enough to forgive the decision to dispense with much of the philosophy.
Candide runs at Greenside@Nicolson Square until 22 August at 22:00. Running time is 50 minutes.
EDINBURGH SPOTLIGHT
SHE LOVES ME
“Good morning, good day!” So begins the best classic
musical you’ve never heard of. And to quote a musical you probably have heard of: “And what a lovely morning!” (cue tap dance). If you do know She Loves
Me, you love it. It’s just that kind of show. This lovely production from Stage by Stage youth theatre group does justice to Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s fledgling musical, (written prior to
their smash hit Fiddler on the Roof).
She Loves Me is based on a Hungarian play, which became the classic film
The Shop Around the Corner, later
remade as
You’ve Got Mail. The plot’s a classic: perky shopgirl Amalia Balash and nervous clerk Georg Nowack both join a lonely hearts club. They write
letters to “Dear Friend,” whom they’ve never met in person. Sparks fly in the shop where they both work—and who should “Dear Friend” turn out to be? What makes
She Loves Me such a gem is the truly gorgeous, hummable music and warm, idiosyncratic characters.
The accompaniment here is just an arrangement for a single piano, but it’s more than serviceable. The set is a bit of a mess—there’s nothing to
give a show an amateur flair like poorly applied glitter—but otherwise things look very good. Care’s been put into the costumes and all the choreography fits in neatly, though the young cast is
sometimes a bit too frenetic and shuffling in their movements.
Jon Bisby has a fine, mature voice as Georg. For some reason, the cast seem divided on the issue of accents. Some of the actors (Bisby among them) seem to believe all musicals require American
accents, while others (the leading ladies among them) stick to their natural English accents. Luke Malone is convincingly elderly as shop owner Mr. Maraczek and all the male cast members in general
do a good job of speaking and singing with voices that are still developing. Will Trafford is an absolute standout as bumbling clerk Sipos. He’s got perfect comic timing and can parlando with all the
aplomb of Rex Harrison. Slightly younger cast member Louie Pollard makes an adorable Arpad (the delivery boy). Abby Purdy does a fine job as Amalia. She’s got a difficult soprano part to sing and
it’s reassuring to see that Stage by Stage haven’t pushed her too hard—her voice is natural and supported. Laura Porter is absolutely wonderful as the ditzy, loveable Ilona Ritter. Porter knows how
to sell the character both in song and dialogue. She’s immensely likeable and Alex Jackson is appropriately menacing as Stephen Kodaly. The chorus does their best with some admittedly tricky parts
though overall some numbers need more balance and blend. Erin Santillo’s willowy, wild-eyed maître-d makes the café scene absolutely crackle with energy; he’s superb.
On the whole, it’s a thoroughly commendable production. Anyone who loves She Loves Me (in
other words, anyone who’s seen it) will be thrilled to see young actors handling the show with such warmth and grace.
BROADWAYBABY
EXETER DANCE FESTIVAL SUCCESS!
It’s impossible not to have a good time at Little Shop of Horrors - the music is so
uplifting, the characters so fun and the story so oddly compelling. Stage by Stage do an apt job of capturing the mood of the piece in an exuberant fashion
(Broadwaybaby)
Hi Ian,
I just wanted to say how lovely your chaps were yesterday. They all behaved beautifully, were charming, polite and I think had a lot of fun!
Thank you so much for finding them for me and organising the licenses - I understand from the lovely Sarah that you had lots going on at school last week, so thank you so much for finding time for us
too!
Hopefully speak to you very soon - and your chaperones Sarah and Nicolette were brilliant too!
Thanks again Ian!
Best wishes,
Ali x
Alison Fraser
ali@alisonfrasertv.com
Bryony Buckingham and Scarlett Dobinson won the Performance Award 2011 at the Exeter Dance Festival in half term, beating over 30 other winning dances in the finals. Here they are with the
judge, Adam Cooper, one of the country's top ballet dancers and musical theatre stars!
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