 |
| A moment in "Musicology" Directed and choreographed by William Forsythe. |
Presented by
Grayboy Entertainment – 11th – 15th December 2023.
Reviewed by
BILL STEPHENS
A gift of a
four-day cruise on the P & O liner, Pacific Adventure, provided this cruise
virgin with the opportunity to sample entertainment at sea.
Being such a
short cruise, expectations as to what on-board entertainment might be on offer
were not particularly high. Therefore the discovery of fewer than three
production shows scheduled over the four nights, along with other entertainment
options, was much welcomed.
Faced with this entertainment smorgasbord, a show called “Sideshow Alley” scheduled for the first night at sea was a no-brainer.
 |
| *Sideshow Alley" -Directed and choreographed by Mandy Liddell. |
Happily ensconced in the cavernous, if oddly named, Marquee theatre, it took only a few minutes to recognise that the show we were enjoying was remarkable. Not only was its clever concept outstanding, but also its excellent production values and extraordinary choreography being performed with flair and precision by its attractive, talented ensemble cast consisting of four lead singer/dancers and eight specialist dancers portraying a variety of carnival characters, put it in a class of its own.
The
choreography and direction, I learned later, was by London based choreographer,
Mandy Liddell. It was athletic, inventive and enthusiastically performed by a cast
so cleverly ensemble that it was often difficult to distinguish the singers
from the dancers because all performed with fastidiously drilled precision with
obvious attention to technique, detail and execution.
Imaginative
steam-punk style costumes, cleverly designed by Nigel Shaw for lightning- fast
changes, allowed the numbers to flow without interruption. Any information
necessary was contained in song lyrics, voice-overs or on the brilliantly
designed, ever-changing LED screens surrounding the performers.
The songlist
consisted of a witty mixture of well-known and less familiar songs chosen to
fit the concept, sung live to excellent pre-recorded backing tapes. Memorable
among them was Bricusse/Newley’s “Pure
Imagination”, David Clayton Thomas’ “Spinning Wheel”, Johnny Young’s “The Real
Thing” and Jerry Herman’s “We Are What We Are”,
all imaginatively re-arranged to enhance the concept by musical director
David Pritchard-Blunt.
Remarkably
for this style of show, there was no time-wasting audience participation or
padding, just 40 minutes of non-stop, brilliantly concepted and performed
entertainment.
 |
| Finale of "One" Directed and Choreographed by Kelley Abbey |
For the second night, the show was entitled simply, “One”. Co-written, directed and choreographed by legendary Australian choreographer, Kelley Abbey, with amazing costumes designed by Paula Ryan, “One” proved to be a subtle, brilliantly delivered message about climate change, plastics and global warming, all wrapped up in 40 minutes of enticing theatrical razzle dazzle.
Again the
same brilliant cast now performing Kelley Abbey’s demanding choreography with
style and panache, with a clever selection of mostly familiar songs chosen
because their lyrics contained previously unsuspected climate references. Among
many highlights in this regard being sassy arrangements of Cole Porter’s “Too
Darn Hot”, Hal David/Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now” and Andy
Grammar’s “Good to Be Alive”. A particularly memorable example involved a
vocalist, glamorously costumed in waste plastic, interacting with a whale.
 |
| A memorable moment in "ONE" Directed and choreographed by Kelley Abbey |
Even though there was still one more show scheduled for the final night of the cruise, completely intrigued by the quality of the shows, and frustrated by the lack of on-board information about the creatives and performers involved, your cruise virgin felt impelled to indulge in some research.
This led to
the discovery that all three shows had been created by Grayboy Entertainment, a
production house created by Graeme Gillies, who also co-wrote both “Sideshow
Alley” and “One”. Grayboy Entertainment has
its headquarters at Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast, and specialises in creating
original concepts for resorts, casinos and cruise ships in Australia and abroad.
General
Manager, Scott Ogier, who also designed the brilliant settings for all three
on-board Grayboy shows, organised a meeting for me with Henry Kirk, the Cast Manager,
charged with maintaining all three shows, as well as appearing in each as a
dancer.
Henry
informed me that he, and all the current cast, were recruited through general auditions
in London, before coming to Grayboy’s headquarters at Burleigh Heads to learn
and rehearse the shows.
In addition
to Henry, the current highly skilled performers appearing in these three shows are
dancers, Kassandra Barker, Clara Jackson, Georgina Gardner, Ciara Farelly,
Charles Wilson, Liam Kelly and Oliver Kirk and lead vocalists are Georgia
Brebner, Oliver Lapthorn, Amy Brockway and William O’Donnell.
 |
| Dancers in "Musicology" Directed and choreographed by William Forsythe |
The final
show was “Musicology”, presented on the last night at sea, and remarkably, even
more spectacular than those which went before. Co-written, directed and choreographed by
William Forsythe, “Musicology” was conceived to celebrate the many genres of
contemporary popular music including Pop, Disco, Motown, Soul and Rock.
As expected by now, it was performed by the same twelve virtuoso performers who had performed the other shows, but this time augmented by a quartet of musicians who were revealed midway through the show on a lift containing a pianist playing a grand piano appeared out of the stage to the accompaniment of a pre-recorded soundtrack of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
 |
| The featured singers with choir in "Musicology" directed and choreographed by William Forsythe. |
.Again the singers demonstrated their impeccable harmonies and ability to sing in any style, transforming into Aretha Franklin for “Natural Woman”, Sam Smith for “How Will I Know”, Prince for “Purple Rain”, Tina Turner for “Proud Mary” or, thanks to the magic of LED screens, backed by a huge gospel choir for “Ain’t No Mountain”, all under the awe-inspiring musical direction of Phillip Filo, who was also responsible for the musical direction of “One”.
Once more
the dancers out-did themselves executing William Forsythe’s dazzling
choreography with astonishing care and precision. Nigel Shaw’s eye-popping costumes matched the
inventiveness of his costumes for “Sideshow Alley”, while Scott Ogier’s
masterful use of LED screens, lifts and flys, once again left the audience
gasping at the effects achieved.
No wonder that
the rousing finale, “Don’t Stop Me Now” involving the whole cast, inspired a
standing ovation from the packed theatre. The audience too recognised that they
had just enjoyed an entertainment experience which will remain long among their
most memorable.
If you’re
lucky enough to find yourself on a P & O Cruise boasting shows by Grayboy
Entertainment, strap yourself in for an exciting experience. They don’t come
any better.
These photographs were provided by Grayboy Entertainment and are all original cast photos and although the productions are the same the artists pictured are not the cast experienced by the writer.
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
