There are certain things that Swindon does incredibly well, and year after year the Summer Youth Project at the Wyvern Theatre proves itself to be right up there with the very best of them.
Yesterday evening, The Swindonian headed to the Wyvern for this year’s production, Little Shop of Horrors – and with almost 200 young performers on stage, many more working behind the scenes and just a matter of weeks to put the whole thing together, it was once again difficult to comprehend quite how they manage it.
Before the curtain went up, however, there was an important reminder that the Summer Youth Project is about far more than simply putting on a show.
We heard from the Wyvern Foundation, which each year provides bursaries to young people who may otherwise miss out on the opportunity to take part in the Summer Youth Project.
Those bursaries allow youngsters to experience everything that comes with SYP, whether that means performing in front of a live audience or learning the technical and stage management skills that make a production of this size possible.
It was a lovely way to begin an evening which demonstrated exactly why that opportunity matters.
And then it was time to enter the wonderfully weird world of Little Shop of Horrors.
The show is a madcap mixture of science fiction, Motown and B-movie horror, following down-on-his-luck flower shop assistant Seymour Krelborn.
Seymour’s fortunes change when he discovers a strange and exotic plant. Unfortunately, Audrey II isn’t particularly interested in water and plant food. It has rather more sinister tastes – and as the plant grows, so too do Seymour’s fame and fortune.
The question, of course, is what Seymour is prepared to feed it next.
Under director David Ashley, musical director Andy Collis and producer Oli Webb, SYP once again somehow managed to turn a huge collection of young people into a polished company in an astonishingly short space of time.
There were 196 youngsters performing in this year’s production, alongside the many young people taking on technical and backstage roles.
Just think about that number for a moment.
Getting 196 youngsters into the same building at the same time would be an achievement in itself. Getting them singing, dancing, acting, moving scenery, hitting cues and delivering a full-scale musical to a paying audience after only a few weeks of rehearsals is something else entirely.
Perhaps one of the nicest things about SYP is that the connection doesn’t necessarily end when someone finishes taking part.
This year former SYP participants Louise Aust and Harri Darley returned as creative assistants, helping the next generation enjoy the same experience they once had themselves.
Then there are the youngsters stepping into principal roles for the first time.
Jayden Kaye took on Seymour Krelborn in what, remarkably, is his first Summer Youth Project.
Opposite him as Audrey was Lysa Aljanes – also appearing in her first SYP.
Both delivered performances that suggested they were anything but newcomers.
And then came Suddenly Seymour.
There are moments in any show when an audience collectively realises it is watching something special. This was one of them.
Opening Act Two, Jayden and Lysa absolutely nailed it.
The vocals were superb, the chemistry worked and the pair built the number beautifully. It is one of the best-known songs in the show, so there is nowhere to hide, but neither performer needed anywhere to hide.
It was AMAZING.
Another performance that demanded attention came from David Scott as sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello – Keep an eye on this name!
There was confidence, comedy, stage presence and a natural ability to command the audience whenever he appeared. Some performers simply have that quality that makes an audience watch them, and David has it in abundance.
There is surely a much bigger stage waiting for him somewhere down the line.
Lily Moir, meanwhile, was back for an impressive fifth Summer Youth Project, this time bringing Audrey II to life. It’s not every day someone gets to play a bloodthirsty talking plant, but Lily threw herself into one of musical theatre’s more unusual roles and gave Seymour’s rapidly growing problem plenty of personality.
Mathew Robinson returned for his second SYP as flower shop owner Mr Mushnik, completing the central trio around Seymour and Audrey and enjoying some particularly good moments alongside Jayden.
But one of the joys of the Summer Youth Project is that it never feels as though it belongs solely to the principal cast.
From the opening Prologue through Skid Row, Da-Doo, Grow For Me, Dentist!, Feed Me and the increasingly chaotic events of Act Two, the enormous company filled the Wyvern stage with energy.
And when the whole company gets involved, SYP really does become a spectacle.
There is something infectious about seeing that many young people throwing themselves into a production together. Some will want careers on stage. Others may never perform in another musical once their SYP days are over. Some will discover that their real passion lies backstage, in lighting, sound, stage management or one of the countless other jobs needed to make theatre happen.
That’s exactly why projects like this matter.
The Summer Youth Project has become one of those brilliant fixtures in Swindon’s calendar where the scale of what has been achieved can almost be taken for granted.
It shouldn’t be.
A cast of 196 young performers, a sizeable technical team and a full musical put together in a matter of weeks is extraordinary.
Little Shop of Horrors is loud, colourful, ridiculous, funny and just a little bit bonkers.
In other words, it is absolutely perfect for SYP.
And after another hugely enjoyable night at the Wyvern, there’s only one thing left to say.
Suddenly, Seymour… we want to see-more.
Little Shop of Horrors continues at the Wyvern Theatre until Saturday, with limited tickets remaining.
