HOME ABOUT US CURRENT PRODUCTION REHEARSALS TICKETS NEWS PAST PRODUCTIONS LINKS CONTACT US
Our Next performance is My Fair Lady 2nd - 7th March 2009. Click here for further details. |
||
Summer Holiday |
|
EVENING POST review - 6th March 2006 "All aboard the big red bus for this fabulous, feelgood musical presented by Cockett Amateur Operatic Society. The era of the Routemaster double-decker may have ground to a halt only recently in real life, but this show faithfully recreates the golden age of the early 1960's in a manner guaranteed to appeal to all generations. Michael J Davies stars as Don (the role played by Cliff Richard in the 1962 movie version), the London Transport bus mechanic who finds romance with American pop starlet Barbara (Nia Trussler-Jones) while holidaying in Europe with his mates (Nick Packer, Stefan Pejic and Michael Aubin). Additional glamour is provided by Cerian Forrest, Liz Stockton and Rhiannon James as a pop trio who thumb a lift along the way, while Lyndy Harding and Ken Thomas provide comic relief as the pair who pursue the bus across Europe. And watch out for a scene-stealing performance from Bubbles the pedigree pooch, as well as a breathtaking (if somewhat brief)musical interlude from Celine Forrest as the wedding singer. Smart work from Mark Warren (who portrays a variety of characters) and some tremendously animated work from the chorus enliven this entertaining show, which works brilliantly in terms of period detail and emerges as a tribute to the talents of this enthusiastic company. Plaudits to director Kathryn Rice, assistant director Julie George and musical director Lyndon Samuel for their contributions to the production. Summer Holiday's run at The Taliesin Arts Centre ends on Saturday. The remainder of the week's performances have already sold out - but it could still be worth a shot." (review by Graham Williams)
Cast Cyril - Michael Aubin Steve - Nicholas Packer Mimsie - Cerian Forrest Angie - Elizabeth Stockton Alma - Rhiannon James Jerry - Ken Thomas Stella - Lyndy Harding Wilf - Mark Warren Bubbles - Bubbles Gentlemen of The Chorus: Mark Warren, Michael Aubin, Nick Packer, Stefan Pejic, Tim Drean, Byron Roberts, Gethin Jones, David Arran, Scott Riseborough, Gareth Huxtable, Ken Thomas, Gareth P Griffiths, Jonathan Williams, Christopher Bond, Michael J Davies, Charlotte Jenkins, Zoe George, Lucy George, Melanie Evans, Helen Stevens, Lesley Jenkins, Sarah Bower, Caroline Minns, Karen Warren, Nikki Thomas, Beverley Harris, Jennifer Hughes, Amber Harding, Joanne Giblin, Anwen Cale, Judith Phillips, Denise Vaughan, Phillippa Andrews, Shioban Lanfear, Megan Graves, Natalie Warren, Madison Stevens, Lisa Thomas, Joanne Thompson, Sophie Arron, Laura Williams, Celine Forrest
Synopsis "SUMMER HOLIDAY" "Bachelor Boy is born again .... less a musical, more a phenomenon" - The Times 1963. The year Beatlemania was born, the Profumo affair scandalised Britain and preceded the resignation of Harold Macmillan, Ronnie Biggs, Buster Edwards and co. snatched £2.6m cash from the London to Glasgow mail train, the 'Britain in Bloom' campaign began, the US trounced 'Great Britain' 23-9 in the Ryder Cup .... and Cliff Richard and the Shadows took off on a joyous jaunt across Europe in a Routemaster bus in the film 'Summer Holiday'. The film is now a feelgood stage musical in Michael Gyngell and Mark Haddigan's adaptation, with Don and his fellow London Transport bus mechanics journeying through Paris, the Alps, Italy and then Greece, along the way picking up three young girls in a clapped-out Morris Minor and a young American pop singer on the run from her domineering mother, and all to the strains of a hit-filled score featuring "In the Country", "Summer Holiday", "I Could Easily Fall in Love with You", "Bachelor Boy", "Move It", "Living Doll", "The Young Ones" and "On the Beach". Don, a mechanic who, with his three mechanic friends, is preparing to launch an offbeat European continental travel service using an old London double-decker bus. On a test run, they collide with a car occupied by a group of female rock musicians, demolishing it -- so they offer to give the girls a ride to Athens. The young American pop singer, Barbara, is posing as a boy to hide from her press agent and mother, who refuse to allow her a vacation from a demanding tour schedule. Don and Barbara fall in love, but Barbara's mother accuses him of abducting her, and the bus and the music roll on to Greece after a series of comic misadventures. A real taste of Great British nostalgia to a score our audiences will already know and love!
Scenes and songs: ACT ONE: Overture (Instrumental)
"Seven Days to a Holiday"- Part 1 (Don, Steve, Cyril, Edwin) "In The Country" (Don, Boys) "Summer Holiday" (Don, Boys) "Shindig" (Instrumental") "Gee Whizz, It's You" (Mimse, Alma, Angie) "Let Us Take You For a Ride" (Cyril, Edwin, Don, Steve, Angie, Alma, Mimsie) "Constantly"- Reprise (Instrumental with backing vocals only) "Round And Round" (Instrumental) "I Could Easily Fall In Love With You" (Steve) "Shindig" (Instrumental) Scene 6: ON THE BUS "Time Drags By" (Steve, Cyril, Edwin) "The Savage" (Instrumental) "Dancing Shoes" (Angie, Mimsie, Alma, Barbara, Boys) "We Say Yeah" (Don)
"Shindig" (Instrumental") "Move It" (Edwin) "A Swinging Affair" (Don, Barbara) "The Frightened City" (Instrumental) Scene 4 (Part One): DRIVING THROUGH ITALY Scene 4 (Part Two): THE BRIDESMAIDS "Living Doll" (Barbara, Boys, Girls) "Sleepwalk" (Instrumental) "La La La Song" (Stella, Jerry, All) "The Young Ones" (Don, Barbara) "The Frightened City" (Instrumental) "The Savage/Zorba" (Instrumental) Scene 9: ON THE BEACH "I'm The Lonely One" (Angie, Mimsie, Alma) BOWS SEQUENCE "Summer Holiday" (Reprise) (Company) "Do You Wanna Dance" (Reprise) (Company) "Les Girls" (Instrumental)
|
