Murder at the Séance
(A murder evening where you the audience, solved the crime)
Saturday 22nd May 2004 : A good time was had by all the participants in this
our first Murder Mystery presentation. The guests at the séance had
the chance to question and find out who-dun nit. An enjoyable fund
raising evening of light-hearted fun for everyone.
Wizard
of Oz
This
was Starlight's first musical show. Many of the group had not been on
stage before, but all were eager to show off their hidden talents. We
all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as did our audiences. We are all looking
forward to the next production which will be presented in February 2005
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
The Wizard of Oz
– 2nd September 2004 I thought that this would be a difficult show for me to review as Starlight
Productions are a new company, this was their first production and they very
proudly advertised the fact that 80% of the cast had never appeared on stage
before, so I went along, not knowing what to expect. This was a valiant
effort and was held together by the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion
and Dorothy, who had a wonderful Essex accent for a Kansas lass. Technically
the use of a projector to project the scenery and back cloth was a clever
idea in a venue that requires the set to be removed each night. This
projection worked very well, together with necessary items of scenery and
the tornado was very well done, also the use of a ‘snow machine’. Costumes
were, for a new group, good, as was make-up and the lighting, again in a
venue limited with lighting facilities, worked well. its hard work starting
a group literally from scratch so a pat on the back to all concerned.
Review by Leslie Judd, NODA Region 10 Rep.
A
wonderful success for "Starlight's" first musical production
Dick
Whittington and his amazing talking cat
"Starlight's"
first Pantomime, and another outstanding success. Although we battled with
colds, flu and a lost voice, the show went on, and to much praise from the
audience. Our thanks go to everyone involved in the production, backstage,
sound (Roy Turner), Lighting (Linda and Rachael White) and especially to
Southend High School for Girls.
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
This is only the second production for this new Company. This
Pantomime benefited from some good performances amongst the cast. The set
was quite basic and in some scenes the stage seemed quite bare, although
this may have been due to lack of facilities. There were a lot of nice
touches in the script. and although the sound let the cast down at times the
chorus as well as Principal singing was good and strong. Also the director
had put in effort with the chorus who filled the stage and continued to act
the whole time they were on stage, this is unusual in a pantomime, and it
was nice to see crossovers and the chorus remaining in character throughout.
Finally for a new company the choreography was well planned and performed.
Review by Leslie Judd, Region 10 Rep.
Robin Hood, the True Story
This productions was
performed at the Eastwood Studio Theatre and was another success story from
Starlight. A family comedy adapted from an original script by Darren
Edwards, a playwright from Wales. Thanks go to the Scott Walker and
Rebecca Fogel, Eastwood's sound and lighting engineers. A pat on the back
for all the members of the group, especially to Vicky Gannon, her first time
as Stage manager. Michelle Matthews & Penny Goldsmith for there first
principal roles with the group, and to Jane Foley for her debut principal
role as leading lady. Well done to everyone from backstage through to
chorus members.
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
Starlight Productions are a new company, this being only their third
production. It is pleasing to see that although they have many cast members
new to performing there can be seen an improvement with each production.
Again I was impressed by the innovation used; the backcloth was a large
screen which was used to project the scenery, which not only used stills but
computer generated moving graphics. I think that this pantomime was
specifically written for the group as the cast appeared to be integral to
the characters, having said this I found it an entertaining script. I
must compliment Make-up and Costumes
Review by Leslie Judd, NODA Region 10 Rep.
Murder
at Blenheim Manor
Our
second murder mystery evening where we saw the lord of Blenheim |manor meet
his maker with no less than seven suspects all with good cause to bump him
off, but who Dunnit (that would be telling) Another great evening fund
raising event to help with the production costs of Cinderella in February.
Thanks to everyone who supported us an look forward to seeing you again in
February
CINDERELLA
FEBRUARY 16th-18th FOCUS
THEATRE :
This was our second Pantomime for the group, and this year we
chose a popular family favourite Cinderella. There was a change of
venue because of a mismanagement issue with Eastwood Studio, None the less
the performances did not suffer and the Focus Theatre came to our rescue.
Many of the cast members were new to the group, but this was not evident by
the enthusiasm shown by everyone within Starlight. Rachael Linnen once
again joined us for this production and she will be returning back to Spain
for another summer season at a holiday resort. (we wish her well)
Dancing was once again choreographed by Irene Volke. Sound and
lighting by Paul Toomey, Robert Gulston & Sam Kirby. and stage managed
by Robert Eve and his enthusiastic backstage team. We also performed a
special charity show for an invited audience of disadvantaged children at
the Wesley Hall, Leigh.
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
Starlight Productions were forced by circumstances beyond their control to
change production venue, and this appears to have done them no harm, in fact
the smaller stage suited this small company. Although the auditorium wasn’t
full, there was an enthusiastic audience, which enabled the cast to interact
with them as any good pantomime cast should. The characters who stood out
for me in this production were Cinderella, Buttons and Dandini. The two
sisters Tulip and Rosebud worked well together and complemented each other,
most of the chorus were enthusiastic, and gave their all and there was a
good cross section of ages. Well Done.
Review by Leslie Judd, NODA Region 10 Rep.
ROBINSON CRUSOE
September 7th-9th NEW EMPIRE
THEATRE: Our second summer family show, and this time performed at
a purpose built theatre. The show was directed by a guest Director,
Tessa Davies, and we had several problems to overcome before the curtains
up. How do we follow a script with scene changes when there are no curtains?
Thanks to the skill of Tessa, and a little ingenuity this was all dealt with
making full use of the theatre and auditorium. There were pirates a
pillaging and even our VIP Guests, the Mayor and Mayoress of Southend, had
to keep hold of their chains of office from the pillaging pirates.
Crusoe and Friday thrown overboard and were swimming through the audience,
Bonnie was teaching Crusoe a sailing lesson or two, and One eyed Jack
threatening to blow the Endeavour from the high seas. Another great
show, with a fantastic chorus supported by the principals. Well done
to everyone involved, especially our new members and backstage crew. Special
thanks go to Katherine Dunne and Wayne Barnard for stepping in one week
before curtain up, and saving the day,
and a special thank you from Irene & Steve to
all of the cast for their help and support for the whole show.
Director: Tessa Davies, Choreographer: Irene Volke
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
: Starlight
Productions have struggled to find a permanent performance venue in their
short life, and this was their first experience in a professional, albeit
small theatre. Though the venue is best suited to box sets as there is no
flying they made good use of the space available, including apron wings and
auditorium. Being a young company they have newcomers to the stage but they
all have plenty of enthusiasm and having used an experienced guest director
this time the effect that this had could be seen. Of their five productions
this was the most disciplined, the choreography although simple was sharper,
the dialogue was clear and on the whole well spoken, the casting was correct
to the company available. Here a big well done to Katherine Dunne who
stepped in and took on the role of Sally just one week before the show, if
she had had more rehearsal time she would have been wonderful in her role.
The simple yet effective sets and props, and the wonderful costumes
complimented some solid performances. The whole company worked hard and it
was a shame that the audience was not an easily responsive one. Well done
and keep up the discipline along with the enthusiasm.
Review by Leslie Judd, NODA Region 10 Rep.
ALADDIN
This was our 2007 Pantomime held
once again at the FOCUS theatre, Southend.
A brand new script, and the first time
performed in the South. Plenty to keep the audience amused and occupied
with all the traditional characters and a few unusual ones. Pong and Wong the
Policemen, a Roller skating Twankey and a flying carpet. Well done to all
involved. Everyone had a wonderful time and our return to the Focus made
it feel like home.
Director: Wayne Barnard, Choreographer: Irene Volke
Excerpt from Review written by NODA
: Starlight
Productions always bring something new to their productions, or have learnt
something from the last show in their short life. This applied to their
production "ALADDIN". The chorus were more disciplined, and the whole
company were in time with each other. Pantomimes are not my favourite form
of entertainment, but I came away having enjoyed the show. The company
worked hard and produced a good family show. I continue to see
improvements in cast members as well as the excellent costumes for both spirit
of the ring and the genie of the lamp, their performances were good. The
comic turn of the two policemen were much appreciated as were the performances
of Wishee Washee and widow Twankey. A good pantomime, with a hard working cast,
good costumes and set, and special effects and
excellent make-up. This is starting to become a good little company that
specialises in Pantomime.
Review by Leslie Judd, NODA Region 10 Rep.
Awaiting
review
Awaiting
review
A
CHRISTMAS WISH
Our first pantomime show
at the more traditional time of Christmas. We found that with a change
of venue and change of dates the show was an even bigger success. The
show was written by a good friend of ours, Wayne Barnard, and
contained our usual panto format of dancing singing and comedy. Rudolph even
managed a tap dance (very clever for a reindeer) We all enjoyed ourselves as
did our ever growing audiences. and we actually finished with a chorus of
White Christmas with Snow.
A
Christmas Wish Starlight Productions 13th December 2008
A fun,
Christmassy show was just what was wanted on a cold December night and
that’s just what we got. A somewhat meandering tale of evil Jack Frost
kidnapping Father Christmas because of an unwise wish by a little girl was
enthusiastically delivered by Starlight Productions. The show gave us plenty
of Christmas songs and lots and lots of terrible puns and jokes. Acting
plaudits must go Skippy with a distinctly east end gangster portrayal of
Jack Frost. Flip and Flop showed some good comedy touches and their ever
changing headgear brought a number of laughs from the audience. Perhaps a
little more attention to timing and the use of the pause in comedy could
have elicited even more good responses. Ian Webb as Mary Christmas was so
unlikely as a dame that, somehow, it worked! He worked well with the
audience which is so essential in panto. The choreography was well thought
through and made good use of the varied abilities of the cast. The land of
the frostbites dance drama was particularly good as well as the tap routine
– even Rudolph danced! The costumes were mostly very good. I particularly
liked those which had been made by the company. In this area some innovative
ideas were evident. The frostbites and the extra terrestrials both showed
clever use of material. It felt less like a formal show than a fun evening
with friends. I look forward to the next offering.
Review by Paul Tarrant NODA
