(Sharon Ditchburn
& Ross Lottering. Pic by Kevin Hillier)
It’s a good ensemble piece, everyone pulling together
to produce an interesting and different musical revue. (Review by Caroline
Smart)
Spot Light Productions have really challenged themselves
with their new show, Soundtrack of Our
Lives which offers something out of the ordinary with song and dance
numbers mixed with much humour.
After her last show LM Radio’s Top Hits, director Sharon Watters decided that she
wanted to do something “different” from the usual musical revue set-up.
Using her circus performer’s experience, mixed with a
love of dance and theatre, Watters has created an entertaining production using
clips from You-Tube to tell musical stories and taking ideas from James
Corden’s The Late Late Show on CBS.
The key word from the title is “soundtrack”. For
example, one number may have at least 20 phrases or verses from well-known
songs – all skilfully mixed together in backing tracks so the sense of the
lyrics smoothly follows the storyline.
The cast includes Caeley van Doorn; John Bell; Dani
Cook; Sharon Ditchburn (musical director); Adam Fanner; Sharon Watters; Ross
Lottering (Creative Director); Tyron Cathey and Kyla Buys. Youngsters Rachel
Ditchburn and Ricardo Lottering made their first appearance on stage in the
opening number.
(John Bell & Kyla
Buys. Pic by Kevin Hillier)
The stage presents challenges in itself for the
9-member cast. Created in an L-shape alongside two of the walls, with one area
barely large enough for two people to move easily, there are several
independently-lit performance areas. Dancers John Bell and Kyla Buys have the
largest space but even they were challenged with the height available. One of
the lifts saw Buy’s raised hand just about touching the ceiling.
I would really like to see this show being done in a
proper theatre venue with backstage space and where set changes and
introduction/removal of props can be done in a more unobtrusive manner.
That said – the audience loved the show and entered
into the spirit of the fun – particularly with a section where they were asked
to pick names out of two hats – one being a song and the other being the style
in which it would be performed. Hats off to van Doorn and Cathey for their excellent improvisations.
It’s a good ensemble piece, everyone pulling together.
Bell and Buys handle a lot of the – often unwieldy - prop changes and Bell also
appears to good effect in a few numbers. Watters even appears backlit behind
the screen as the stripper in Patricia.
We also had Fanner and Cathey in drag, and the clever illusion piece, Black
and White Can Can.
Highlights for me were Stalker with Ditchburn, Cook and Lottering and van Doorn handling both parts of The Song That Goes Like This.
With Heather Dix in charge of piano and musical,
the Technical Director is Kevin Hillier with lighting by Gabrielle Rio Stow.
Soundtrack Of Our
Lives has two performances on October 26 and 27 at Musketeers Westville
(German Club). The doors open at 19h00 and the show will start at 20h00.
Tickets R100 pp. Food and drink is available from the venue.
For bookings contact Sharon Watters on 082 997 0709. The German Club is situated at 7 Barham Road in
Westville. – Caroline Smart
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