Production: Lisa Mills
Sound: Ryan Heath
Lighting: MCC Venue
Show sponsor: Harris James
As a first time visitor I would love to say what an unexpectedly delightful modern theatre space the MMC Venue is in the Leicestershire village of Mountsorrel. And it has very nice friendly staff. The auditorium is well raked offering great seats with a clear view of the stage down below. Tonight we have a near capacity audience for The Spotlight Theatre Group’s performance of Forever Young by Eric Gedeon (original script) from an adaptation by Giles Croft and Stefan Bednarczyk. For this performance permission has been granted to add two more characters and songs.
Forever Young is a play with well-known songs about growing old disgracefully and set in a retirement home for old actors, singers and entertainers. The company have chosen to call the retirement home after Patricia Routledge. The set is a semi circle of white armchairs and settees. Sister Sara (Lisa Mills) is the nurse in charge of the residents or so she thinks. The actors are made up to look a lot older than they are and it amuses me to see plenty of audience members who aren’t far off the age of the residents of The Routledge Retirement Home. Hopefully they aren’t as badly behaved or prone to burst into rebellious song every five minutes. They do seem to enjoy the clap alone sections in act two though and the naughty sweary bits too.
The actors, on the whole, retain their own names for the show with the exception of the always excellent Jason Wrightam who plays the grumpy Russian speaking Mr Writovski. Like Wrightam, the rest of the cast, Jennifer Richardson, Jemma Bennett, Paul Mills, Martin Holtom, Georgia Bladon and Mina Hilton (Miss Pegg) appear to be having a whale of a time sending up their potential older selves.
The show gives the cast plenty of opportunities to flex their arthritic funny bones and stronger vocal chords to devastatingly comic effect through old stage reminiscences. The Shakespeare speeches part is hilariously delivered with plenty of comedy suprises!
Forever Young is liberally peppered with jukebox hits from down the ages delivered with gusto and some with poignancy including Sex Bomb, These Are The Days of Our Lives, I Love Rock and Roll and the funniest version of Barbie Girl you are ever likely to see on stage. All of the cast have great singing voices, are accomplished actors, highly amusing and I urge you to go and see it. It’ll make you feel young again. The show has the added bonus of raising money for Age UK.
Production photos: Ben Sherwin
