The children
celebrated when they heard the rumours that Meatloaf was about
to sing
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|
It might seem
a long way from Bat Out Of Hell to Whistle Down The Wind, but the
similarities between the two are greater than you might think.
Nigel Bell
Long, long ago
Bryan Forbes directed Hayley Mills and Alan Bates in the film version
of Whistle Down The Wind.
That was set
in deepest Lancashire.
So imagine my
surprise, nay disgust, when the stage announcer told us the action
for the theatrical production took place in the deep south of Louisiana.
It took about
five minutes to realise this was a totally justified switch of location.
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| Tim Rogers
- is he Jesus? |
Being set in
America gave the producers scope to introduce evangelists, racial
bigotry, culture clashes, country-rock music and scary police officers.
The combined elements could hardly apply to Chorley or Blackburn.
The story revolves
around three children, whose mother has recently died.
Swallow, the
eldest, discovers a man hiding in the family barn. The first words
he utters are "Jesus Christ," (the shock of being discovered,
for he's actually an escaped convict).
Swallow takes
it literally and believes the Son of God has returned and could
well bring mum back from the dead.
A musical by
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman seems such a culture clash
and the songs in Whistle Down The Wind do tend to fall into one
of two categories - the Lloyd Webber "Phantom/Superstar"
bracket and Steinman's rock opera of his Meatloaf years.
It's all a matter
of taste but the standouts for me (apart from No Matter What) were
the rockier songs - Tire Tracks and A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To
Waste - and those which could only have worked in the American setting
- the line dancing of Cold.
Of course, no
matter how good the songs, you need performers to pull them off.
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| The real
star of the show - Katie Rowley Jones as Swallow |
This is where
this production really scores heavily.
Although Tim
Rogers as The Man, is the focal point, the whole cast are ideally
suited to their parts and there's not a naff singing voice in the
house.
The children
- Carly Thoms as Brat and Jonathan Burke as Poor Baby performed
beyond their years.
But the real
star is Katie Rowley Jones as Swallow, the heroine of the piece.
A former graduate
of the University of Nottingham, this is her professional stage
debut. You wouldn't have thought it. She commands the stage and
her singing voice easily upstages those around her.
Long may her
career prosper.
From the set
to the costumes it's hard to find fault with this and when the children
sang No Matter What, to mis-quote another Meatloaf/Steinman song,
there was hardly a dry eye in the house.
| An
absolutely fantastic and outstanding production. It was a very
moving and enjoyable experience to watch. All the cast were
superb, especially Tim Rogers and Katie Rowley. I would like
to pay particular praise to all the local children who took
part. They must have been working very hard to achieve such
a professional performance. I would recommend anyone to see
this production; it's defiantly worth the money. This is certainly
one performance I will never forget. |
| Theresa
Marriott-Brown, Nottingham |
| I
went to see this production for my birthday and it was fantastic.
I didn't see one dry eye at the end of it. Tim Rogers was fantastic
and I have never seen so much stamina from any other stage performer.
Please come again with the same actors as it was brilliant and
i even managed to hang around the stage door and get his autograph
but i was miffed when Scott (Amos) didnt come out. |
| Tania
Ames, Beeston, Nottingham, England |
| absolutely
brilliant if tim rogers is Jesus then we are off to church every
sunday if not every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rhiannon and Linda
|
| chris
beeby coalville |
| Katie
is my sister and I am very proud that so many people think of
her so highly....... I do too!! She has worked really hard and
deserves it!!! |
| Emily
Rowley Jones, Southampton/England |
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