“Don’t mind me jigging along,” said the grandad sitting next to me, fist pumping the air, bouncing in his seat as the overture ramped up in volume and excitement. Much to his granddaughter’s bemusement, he returned to sharing their family bag of Wotsits and pointing out people they knew as the curtains lifted and the stage filled.
Annie playing at Whitley Bay Playhouse is a belter of a show and judging from the singing and jumping along in the very nearly full auditorium, a perfect end-of-the-holidays treat.
Set in New York during the Great Depression, the story of Annie the spirited, flame-haired orphan, is known to many. With wit and guile she escapes the cruelty of the orphanage run by the gin-swilling Miss Hannigan and is adopted by a wealthy businessman who, in wanting to soften his image, finds his heart softened by this feisty ten year old girl.
It’s easy to applaud little Annie and cruel Miss Hannigan who belted out their numbers with aplomb but, credit goes to the ensemble who with energy and smiles drove the energy of the show and took the audience with them.
The show is the culmination of a summer camp run by Astravaganza Entertainment. A large cast of thirty children plus adults have rehearsed intensively for two weeks with an incredible result, some very proud mums in the audience and a long standing ovation.
Notable in its absence, was a lack of diversity for a cast drawn from the North East. Targeted marketing could be a future consideration to open up the joy of theatre to a broader community.
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