What better way to see out the last few days of a miserable, grey January than to hunker down in the beautiful Aylesbury Waterside Theatre and enjoy an evening of catchy, well-known bops performed by an enthusiastic youth theatre group?
RARE Productions is the “UK’s largest theatre movement for young people”, formed by Andrew Burton and David Marriott in 2002 in response to a noted “lack of large-scale theatre activity for young people”. They work with around 5,000 children and young people during an average year, putting on shows across the country.
Having last seen Annie performed in 2023 during a UK tour, and starring Craig Revel Horwood as Miss Hannigan, I was interested to see how an amateur company would tackle the iconic, award-winning show.
I can’t imagine Annie is an easy show for any company to put on, with its focus on an orphanage in a dreary 1930s New York (with a wheelchair-bound US president thrown in for good measure!) – not the most child-friendly, uplifting era in modern history. But it’s clear from tonight’s opening performance that RARE Productions are up for a challenge.
The theatre foyer was buzzing with an excited audience, young and old, and most likely a large amount of family members there to support their children, grandchildren or siblings, and when the lights went down and the musical overture started up, a hush of anticipation filtered through the auditorium.
The show itself (based on the book by Thomas Meehan and with music and lyrics by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin, respectively) is a joyous array of “pluck and positivity” led by Little Orphan Annie, so getting the eponymous character’s worn-out old boots filled correctly has got to be a priority. RARE Productions have hit the bullseye with Mattie North taking on the role. Her powerful voice filled the auditorium throughout the show, and she was sassy and cheeky with a heart of gold, especially when interacting with the other ‘kids’, her fellow orphans. Indeed, there was nothing more endearing than when the whole ensemble of children of all ages was on the stage, although perhaps it’s worth saying that it was a little chaotic and ‘busy’ when that did happen, and occasionally difficult to follow who was leading the chorus. This confusion was also hindered by some sound issues throughout the performance, which sadly deterred from several solos and appeared to be off-putting for the cast at times. Despite that, they battled on with professional poise, and hopefully similar issues will be nipped in the bud for the remaining performances.
While we may not have Mr Revel Horwood gracing us with his fabulous Miss Hannigan, Maisie Rothwell plays the role with a sufficient stumbling lack of grace and another excellent singing voice, belying her youth with the aged tone of Hannigan’s drunken wickedness saturating through.
Hannigan’s shifty brother Rooster was another notable performance, played with a cocky brashness by Jack Farthing with a fabulous performance of ‘Easy Street’ alongside Rothwell and his ‘partner’ Lily, played by Katlyn Garside.
Amongst the main players there were perhaps a few first night nerves, understandable in a show of this scale and notoriety, and some lines were lost in the rush to get through them, but it was impossible not to be swept up in the saccharine-sweet sentimentality of the show, despite a few pauses and blunders.