Hilarious Hairspray

At first glance the choice of Hairspray seems to be a little frivolous, particularly coming after such epics as Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd.

The show demands a high degree of energy from all involved and there was also the issue of the cast, we knew perfectly well that we had to find some very special cast members to play not only the male/female Edna but also the larger than life Motormouth Maybelle and not forgetting the super cool Seaweed and of course the "rotund rabble rouser " Tracy.

I have always believed that  these special people will emerge and fill the roles perfectly, and my faith was once again justified. The cast for this years show was one of the strongest we have ever had; each brought something unique and utterly appropriate to the role. From Issy Sweetland's sweet and sassy Little Inez, to Yoshi Colwells comic genius as Penny Lou Pingleton the cast fitted their roles like a glove. Iffe Ogununga shone as Motormouth and Toby Harris was a convincing Elvis wannabe. Emma Manning as both Prudy and matron demonstrated her vocal virtuosity and Anjola ..... was a revelation as the cool and charming Seaweed and boy can he move! Hannah Pinney achieved the pinnacle of her career as a performer at Ashford School with a spectacular performance as Tracy, utterly convincing and highly energised, despite the fat suit! Ollie Gilbert quite simply was Corny Collins the smooth sixties host with the most! Luke Jones completed his fifth show with a suitably cheery rendition of Mr Pinky.  Pauline Velge as Velma Von Tussle was astonishing her poise and comic timing was superb and she created a real comic masterpiece as did Anna Peppitt as her spoilt brat daughter Amber, her rendition of "Cooties" was magical. Tom Miller was absolutely hilarious as Wilber and John Grocott found his inner woman and gave one of the finest renditions of Edna I have ever seen, his duet with Wilber brought the house down, as it should. The ensemble also performed with style accuracy and energy and this gave the show its extra gloss.

The show was choreographed to perfection by Miss Kiki Bradstock who by sheer hard work and a huge amount of faith, transformed a group of mostly   "never danced in my life before" pupils into a convincing dance troupe. Allan Clay and I were absolutely thrilled by the final product and we look forward to Next year and a total change of gear, Evita!