REVIEWS

This afternoon Lydia and I headed to mac Birmingham to go and see Dynamik Theatre’s production of The Addams Family, a musical that has been on my bucket list for quite a while now. Lydia, like me, enjoys both the original Addams Family films and the newer Netflix show Wednesday, so she was intrigued to see the musical written about the macabre family.

The Addams Family musical takes place over a day or two in the lives of the family, with Wednesday inviting her boyfriend Lucas and his parents to dinner to meet her family. Wednesday has fallen head over heels in love and is experiencing that glowy feeling of a new love. All she wants is for everything to be ‘normal’ when the two families meet, and she confides in her father about her relationship… trapping him squarely between his wife and daughter – definitely a rock and a hard place situation!

The Addams Family score is fantastic, and the cast (and band!) did it absolute justice. The live music was really well done, and we could glimpse the band at the back of the stage as they played. Lydia and I were blown away by the local talent on display on stage, with some really wonderful voices among them. In particular, we loved Sam Andrews-Lyons’ performance as Gomez and Sophie Stait’s Wednesday. Both of them wowed us with their vocal performances and acting, particularly in their performances of Pulled and Happy/Sad.

Steph Westwood put in an impressive performance as Morticia, and Alex Stait-Bradshaw as Alice – both of them had wonderful voices. Ed Blann’s Fester was hilarious as he conspired with the ancestors to encourage love to prevail, breaking the fourth wall on occasion and keeping the audience chuckling throughout. I have to say, though, that the whole cast were generally great, and we both enjoyed the ensemble who danced and sang around the stage as the Addams family ancestors.

Lydia and I both thought the set and props were pretty good, especially for a local theatre company. There were two large moving set pieces that were rotated to become different walls, rooms, gates and so on, with curtains that could be opened or closed to reveal the furniture within. The costumes were great, and we both thought the ancestors’ outfits and makeup were particularly good.

It may have been an ‘amateur’ performance, but it certainly was an impressive production with a talented cast, excellent musicians, and some great costumes, props and sets. There were a few wobbly tech moments, with missed mic cues and the odd bit of wonky lighting, but these didn’t detract from the performance too much.

The show unfortunately had a stop in the first act – these things happen to all performances, both amateur and professional (James and I experienced one just a few months ago at the Alex). The cast, crew and band picked it up perfectly afterwards, beginning again from the start of the scene and even dealing with the slight issue of props not being reset. A few costume malfunctions were also dealt with professionally, with the cast not allowing them to derail their performances.

Overall, The Addams Family was a really enjoyable afternoon at the theatre, and a great showcase of the talent we have locally. The few technical hiccups and the interruption in the first act stopped it from being quite a five-star production for us, but they didn’t take away from what was otherwise a very entertaining show. It’s definitely a ★★★★☆ from both of us.

It was lovely to head to the MAC theatre this Friday evening, an new venue completely for me, but Dynamik theatre filled it with the spooky energy of the The Addams Family. I am a regular attender of Dynamik shows and always know I am in safe hands with this group! Friday was absolutely no different.

Based on the famously macabre Addams family, The Addams Family follows Gomez, Morticia and their delightfully eccentric relatives as they face an unexpected challenge when Wednesday falls in love and brings her new boyfriend home. Blending dark humour, quirky characters and plenty of theatrical chaos, the musical explores family, love and the importance of embracing what makes you different.

Now lets get to the many highlights of this show! Starting with our ‘Addams Family’. Gomez portrayed by Sam Andrews-Lyons was an absolute delight. Funny, charming, with a Spanish flair, he was a great scene partner to those he appeared on stage with, counterbalancing their straight man with the appropriate amount of crazy. A fantastic voice, he characterised Gomez perfectly, fans of the Addams Family will not be disappointed!

Morticia was played by Steph Westwood, someone who I have seen in many main roles in Dynamik and she was the same reliable lead in this show. Her vocals were absolutely fantastic, her comedic timing was brilliant and her dry nature lead to many comedic moments. We felt for her as husbands ‘secret’ was exposed, and she played the furious then forgiving wife excellently. A highlight between Gomez and Morticia was their tango at the end of Act 2! An incredibly difficult choreo moment executed well.

Next to Wednesday Addams, played by the brilliant Sophie Stait. She characterised Wednesday to absolute perfection, her face never once broke and neither did her vocals. Both her big songs ‘Pulled’ and ‘Crazier Than You’ were audience favourites. Her part in the show completely lead the story, her hilarious interactions with her family made the show for me, her interactions with Gomez particularly funny but sensitive as well, both elements played expertly.

Onto the wider Addams Family, Fester played by Ed Blann was a sweet, romantic portrayal. His vocals were great, completely committing to the Uncle Fester role. His romance with the moon was particularly sweet, an amazing ballet performance ‘on pointe’ from Lauren Toney was really beautiful. A moment with the moon at the end of Act 2 really has to be seen to be believed, I will very much encourage you to see the show for that reason alone. Young Pugsley (Marley Beckford) was brilliant, such a physical role climbing up and down the set, being Pulled around by Wednesday, all whilst singing incredibly well and having the audience rooting for Pugsley.

The mysterious Grandma was played by Kate Green, who was completely hilarious and was born for this comedic role! The audience was in bits when she appeared on stage, her craziness was a real highlight of the show. Finally Lurch, Evan Moss, who was the helpful family Butler with so many comedic moments, many of which it took the audience a few seconds to understand, making the pay off even better! He had a brilliant and unexpected vocal moment at the end of Act 2.

Now onto the Benicke family. Firstly Lucas played by Jake Miles. He played the role brilliantly, characterisation was fantastic as we believed his complete devotion to Wednesday and his panic with his family meeting the Addams. His vocals were fantastic, as well as his scene partnership with Sophie Stait, they played incredibly well off each other! Mal, Lucas’ father was played by Ollie Harper, another Dynamik regular. His journey in the role of Mal was really fun to watch, from a buttoned up figure to the ‘old’ Mal, again vocals were fantastic. Alice was played by Alex Stait-Bradshaw, she was a real highlight. Some incredibly complicated vocal moments, executed to perfection, her performance was also completely hilarious and left the audience laughing.

The Ancestors were our Ensemble. Providing not only excellent dances, fantastic cast vocals, brilliant costuming and makeup, but were also moving sets whilst action was happening on stage! And whilst cast members were stood on these structures. It was so effective and really elevated the performance. This group was consistent and amazing, they really added to the show. Some members that really stood out were Steve Element, Marianna Samara, Daisy Williams, Caitlin Banks, but honestly I can hardly recognise so many of them (a testament to the amazing makeup)!

Something I would love to highlight is the lighting! It was really effective for the stage, Jake Taylor did a fantastic job there, it really added to the immersion of the story and a professional feel. A big shoutout to those backstage, stage managers, sound, it was a brilliant effort that translated incredibly well to stage.

The production team, Artistic Director Jamie Poxon, should be incredibly proud of this show, his direction was really fantastic and his hard work was really reflected in the talent of the group. Musical Directors Oscar Cooper-Spriggs and Fiona McCanlis as well as the larger band looked like they were having incredible fun, bringing the pieces to life and the company was directed vocally very well. Assistant Choreographer Caitlin Rice-Jones did a fantastic job with the company, producing spooky moves that immersed us further into the Addams world!

This was overall a fantastic show, running for this weekend only! Tickets will be linked below, so get them quickly and you will be in for an incredibly enjoyable show!

A cocktail of dark comedy and fantasy for Palace Theatre as Into The Woods brings fairy tale twist to Redditch.

The cast of Into The Woods were overwhelmed with emotion as they returned to stage for the first time in two years for Wednesday night’s opening show at Redditch’s Palace Theatre.  

Dynamik Theatre’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical treated the audience to a magical blend of classic fairy tales, all of which take a dark but comical turn, as they seamlessly intertwine with one another.  

The show cleverly follows the story of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, exploring the – sometimes fatal – consequences of each character’s wishes and quests.  

Speaking about the opening performance, which took place on Wednesday, Artistic Director and Founder of Dynamik Theatre Jamie Poxon said: “The show was very, very good and the audience loved it. I’m so proud of everyone who’s helped make the production such a success.  

“It’s been a tough few years for us all, so to deliver an opening show as they did is just amazing.”  

With the production showcasing aspiring performers as young as nine working alongside accomplished actors who have been in the industry for more than 30 years, the cast is bursting with diversity, undeniable experience, and ground-breaking talent.    

Steph Westwood who plays the witch, sensationally bought her character to life thanks to her remarkable voice and ability to successfully translate many of the emotions that come with motherhood, through her outstanding performance.  

The voice of Cinderella was second-to-none thanks to actor Annabel Pilcher, whose delicate demeanour contrasted well with that of mischievous Little Red, played by Louisa Gould, whose fearless teenage traits shone throughout.   

The glue of the show was rising star Mitchell Brown, who triumphantly managed to tie each snippet of the various tales together as narrator thanks to his confident stage presence.  

“I knew this show would be a challenge, it’s a big show, mammoth in fact and took everyone out of their comfort zone - but I always like a challenge,” explained Jamie, adding: “But I wanted to give the Palace Theatre something new.  

“And making a success of the show was even more important after the great Stephen Sondheim sadly died last year. Sondheim was iconic in the arts industry and our performance hopefully paid tribute to him from everyone at Dynamik Theatre, in our own special way.”  

With the production delayed a year due to the pandemic, this was the first time for many of those involved to be back performing in front of a live audience in two years.  

“I can’t describe just how good it felt having people actually watching the show again. It was a bit surreal actually,” added Jamie.  

“It’s not just the cast either, it’s the musicians, the set and costume designers, and those who work backstage – we all do this because we want to make theatre and that really is all we’ve wanted to do over the past two years.  

“It’s been horrible not being able to perform, in fact, it's been absolutely heartbreaking, but we’re back and we can all start doing what we love again.”  

Rehearsals for the show started back in August, with Jamie saying the first time the team met up was “very emotional”.  

“There were lots of tears, it was the first time all of the cast and crew members have been together in 18 months. It was very moving."  

Further performances of Into The Woods will be taking place at the Palace Theatre tonight (Thursday 10th February) and Friday at 7.30pm, with two performances on Saturday, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.  Buy your tickets for the show here.