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West Town’s House Play 2011 - ‘Sister Act’

The amount of actresses that graced the stage last night was so large that I am going to be forced to refer to them throughout this review not as West Town’s cast, but as the West Town army; was there any member of the house not involved? It was, as is usual for West Town - a packed house, I noticed on my way in, a not-insignificant amount of people waiting by the door on the off chance a ticket became available. I cannot imagine any did. That’s the thing about a West Town play, year after year, tickets are sought after, because you have absolute knowledge that a trip to the theatre with West Town will, without fail, be an entertaining evening.

‘Sister Act’ ... As a member of the male population, I suspect I am not supposed to name this as amongst one of my favourite films, but it is, and why not damn it!? With the great Whoopi Goldberg as Las Vegas showgirl turned nun Deloris van Cartier, and a superbly original storyline, it is entertaining cinema of a very high quality. Now, having the musical pedigree that West Town undoubtedly does (the members of the cast that are also top choir singers are; off the top of my head, Katendi Heald, Elleri Hughes, Ester Bebb, Anna Cook, Hannah Giebus and Charlotte Bresnahan, with a lot more besides), it made absolute sense for them to make full use of this resource by choosing a play that allows them to make use of these talents. Does that mean West Town is a House with an ability to sing but not act? Fantastic performances prove otherwise.

The most important job for the director(s) of a House Play is (in my opinion), the casting and with such a large body of talent to choose from, the job of Saskia Barnes and Philippa Davis to whittle down the candidates and find their leading actresses must have been a difficult one. I suppose it follows then that the most important part of the director’s most important job is picking their leading actor. Here they are to be commended, Marienella Phillips is an extremely strong actress and singer, and very effectively displayed both qualities this evening. We began with a rather innovative introductory scene, Harriet Acock possibly making a case that a larger part could have been hers. Slight problems with Katendi’s microphone somewhat marred the opening number, but it got the performance off to a great start. Slick fast paced scenes followed, Philippa providing a very solid performance as the shady villain Vince, backed up well by her two henchmen, Willy and Joey, played by Anna Sibley and Bella Wickens respectively, both deserve special mentions for strong performances, Bella especially.

As the story progressed, we were introduced to the wise-cracking cop ‘Eddie’, played well by Tilly Wickens with solid performances from her supporting officers. It was the move to the convent (and the move to seeing West Town girls dressed in a nun’s ‘habit’) however where the charm of the original movie really began to shine through; Elleri Hughes as the impossibly cheerful ‘Mary Patrick’ and Esther Bebb as ‘Mary Robert’ worked extremely well with Marienella, with hints of genuine comic timing from all three. Charlotte Bresnahan was extremely convincing as the severe Mother Superior, whilst Sarah Dawson completed the main cast with a consistently funny portrayal of Bishop O’Hara. As far as the cameos go, Saskia Barnes had the theatre in raucous laughter at every single line.

The music was at times hit and miss. When used well, such as when the choir sing at their church for the first time, you would be forgiven for thinking that it could have been a contender at the Part Song competition. The hilarious use of ‘Swing my hair back and forth’ was also extremely effective. The final choir performance could however have been slightly tighter, perhaps slightly more drilled. In my attempts to find fault with this play, I suppose I should say that there was little variation in the set as the play continued, though to be fair, simplicity of set is probably required in order to show the simplicity of the convent. Perhaps though, when alternating to the nightclub scene, a greater effort could have been made, and perhaps the final scene could have been tighter, with a tad less giggling.

But these are minor faults; the overall ‘good-feel’ nature of the film was carried over to the theatre by West Town in spades, it was as so many West Town plays are, incredibly entertaining, nominations for their leading actresses are surely to follow.

Congratulations West Town, it was a delight to watch.

* * * *

We are now coming to the close of an as ever enthralling and entertaining week of House plays, yet tonight West Town are back with directors Saskia Barnes and Philippa Davis out to prove to everybody that they can be true contenders. After all the hype, there was an absolutely packed Redgrave Theatre in which one could already feel that something special was about to be delivered. The choice of play was inspired, making the most of the talents of the West Town girls; we had nuns, villains, inside men and of course the sparkly dresses.

The use of a simple set only involving a raised section at the back, which was cleverly used as the stage for the opening number, meant that West Town were free to do as they wished across the whole front of the stage. The set up for the Chapel of two benches to house the congregation and then having the choir covering stage left made for a very effective impression.

The costumes were well chosen and other than the perhaps laziness of using School uniform at the beginning, there were lots of different garments on display, some of which, such as the Pope's (Ellie Sibley), were very realistic.

Lighting and sound were generally used very well, whether it was a spot to highlight the police office, or all stage lights up whilst in the chapel. Although there were a few slip-ups, these fortunately did not mar the overall performance and were very minor.

The direction was of a very high standard this year, it was clear to see a lot of time had been put into this as a cast of roughly 30 were not only controlled, but knew exactly what was expected of them with plenty of super acting from the supporting cast whilst the leads were taking centre stage. Saskia and Philippa although directing too appeared in cameo roles of memorable quality in particular Philippa’s portrayal of a sinister gangster was very effective. It’s not easy for girls to become convincing men but West Town managed it and all the male characters were well studied and convincing.

Some top notch performances came from the usual suspects, Elleri Hughes as the slightly naïve dim-witted Mary Patrick gave a very amusing portrayal of the character and Esther Bebb as a more timid Mary Robert was just as noteworthy as her performance was more subtle and understated. Sarah Dawson also provided some additional comedy as the eccentric Bishop.

Of course these characters were nothing without two who deserve special mention, Charlotte Bresnahan as both a 'Supreme Girl' and then Mother Superior excelled at playing the harsh domineering leader and of course sang well at the beginning; and then there was the one and only Christy, or as she becomes known as, Mary Clarence. Not the easiest of roles to play especially with such a transition that has to be clearly shown on stage, however Marienella Phillips really managed not only to relate to the character, but seemingly become her.

Sister Act was a great show which hinged on a large number of the House being involved with some truly memorable scenes of nuns overacting their hearts out to great comedic effect. This show is one which will not be quickly forgotten by those of West Town. I personally believe it to have been a triumph and all those involved whether it be on or off stage can really be pleased with themselves and know that they really did treat the audience to a very enjoyable version of this ever famous show.

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