'One of the most memorable' - Junior theatre group praised for hit performance of Honk! at Festival Drayton Centre
A junior theatre group in Market Drayton has been praised after staging one of the "most popular and memorable shows" at the Festival Drayton Centre.
The centre is celebrating another successful performance after the Junior Theatre Workshop wowed audiences with their latest production of Honk!
The musical, which is an adaptation of the classic story of The Ugly Duckling, drew large crowds as families and theatre lovers filled the venue to cheer on the young performers.
Gary Hoggarth, Manager of the Festival Drayton Centre, praised the cast and creative team for their dedication and talent.
He said: "We are absolutely delighted with the success of Honk! The Junior Theatre Workshop truly outdid themselves.
"The performances were full of energy, talent and heart, and it’s been wonderful to see the community turn out in such large numbers to support our young performers.
"The enthusiasm and creativity of the cast made this production one of the most popular and memorable shows we've hosted at the Festival Drayton Centre."
Review of Honk by John Hargreaves
It was a grand spectacle all the way when the amdrams' Junior Theatre Workshop production of Honk! hit the Festival Drayton Centre stage.
From the rousing opening chorus 'A Poultry Tale' to the heartwarming finale 'Warts and All', it was colour and light. Brilliant costumes and sets highlighted the ambition and confidence of the young actors as they sang and danced their way through emotional highs and lows.
This was Hans Christian Anderson's story The Ugly Duckling, in a junior version of the award-winning musical from George Stiles and Anthony Drew. Its message fit well with the ethos of Junior Theatre Workshop. It was one of tolerance in the face of peer pressure and bullying, and seeing inner strength and beauty beneath surface appearances.
It was also great fun - another key aspect of the group. Every time Georgina Bussue’s Ugly sounded her resounding ‘honk’ she earned a laugh. Isla Jones as the elegant tap-dancing bullfrog had a string of laugh-out-loud jokes culminating in “I say to myself I’m just a handsome prince inside. Then I get real – who wants to snog a frog?”
Lily Jones, who played Orphan Annie in the last Junior Theatre Workshop, had stepped up a generation to play mother duck Ida. The issue of parental responsibility – and unconditional love for her children -- was now hers as she sang her way from ‘The Joy of Motherhood’ through ‘Hold Your Head up High’ to the emotive ballad ‘Every Tear a Mother Cries’. Her feckless mate Drake (Lucy Dixon) provided counterpoint.
Martha Cooper’s cat exuded an ominous purpose from the moment she stalked onto the stage. Following Georgina Bussue’s sweet and sympathetic solo ‘I’m Just Different’ the two paired up for a beautifully staged duet in the barn but this was plainly a pretence at friendship, pairing innocence with malice.
There was a cast of twenty-six and boundless energy on stage. Embellishing the narrative was a smart flight attendant announcing a wild goose chase, a TV film crew interviewing Ida, encounters with swans starting to migrate, two winter blizzard ballet solos, and of course, Ugly’s transformation from mis-fit cygnet to beautiful swan.
An even larger cast of adults clearly played a crucial role in supporting the young players through months of developing their roles and then bringing them to performance. They will no doubt have reaped their own rewards from helping celebrate what made each member of the cast special.
