After a couple of years away the kids are back and this year it’s Legally Blonde-The Musical.
Supported by the Wyvern Foundation, Summer Youth Project (SYP) – offers anyone aged 9-21 the opportunity to take part in a full-scale theatre performance with those aged 16-26 able to get involved with the technical opportunities a full professional theatre performance brings.
Ready to burst onto stage with an all-singing-all-dancing cast, it would be very easy to forget that the eager participants have only been rehearsing this show for the past eleven days so any slight mishaps with sound or the forgetting of lines will be forgiven!
With a clever and catchy musical score by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin, this show is full of energy, charm and is excellently put together by director David Ashley and his team.
If you are not aware of the story, let me sum it up for you in one (long) line: Californian sorority queen Elle, follows her boyfriend to Harvard law school after he dumps her for being insufficiently serious and goes on to steal the show, in pink!
As always at the Summer Youth Project, the entire cast gives a professional and energetic performance and it is evident how much fun everyone is having on stage, and also around the auditorium throughout the whole performance.
However, special mention must go to Poppy Bartoszewska who in her first ever youth project, plays the role of Elle with energy, skill and brilliant comic timing. The sterling Josh Gasparro, back for his fifth project, as (ex)boyfriend Warner played his part with ease. Comedic and charismatic Ryan Aust who is in his sixth SYP played the likeable teaching assistant Emmett, and in his third project, Harrison Thomas Darley, marvellous as the sleazeball Professor Callaghan.
But there’s always a star, even in a cast of over 100! If he had a longer part it would have gone to the UPS delivery guy Albert Jaques-Matthias who played his part very impressively and had the audience chuckling away in their seats, however, starring throughout both acts and with an amazing voice for the theatre, it has got to be Louise Aust as brash, yet caring and optimistic hairdresser Paulette who in her first lead role was quite simply brilliant!
As I said at the start, this cast have been rehearsing this show for less than two weeks! If I was involved in this production, I would be very proud of everything that was achieved, and with a well deserved standing ovation I feel the audience fully agree.
Legally Blonde runs until Saturday 20th August. For tickets book online at swindontheatres.co.uk
