You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
It’s gonna be a night we’ll never forget.
I first read Carrie when I was 12 years old, so when one of my favourite youth theatre groups announced they would be doing a summer intensive of it over the course of two weeks, culminating in performances, I had to go. I did ask myself, though, how on earth could you turn a horror story into a musical? Sure, it was dark indeed, but it worked.
Based on the 1974 Stephen King novel of the same name, Carrie is the story of a young girl with telekinetic powers (unbeknown to her) who is the focus of ridicule and bullying by her peers. Naive and vulnerable, a good deed leads Carrie into a situation which turns to devastation and tragedy. With music by Michael Gore, lyrics from Dean Pitchford and a book courtesy of Lawrence D Cohen, Carrie is a real unsung hero in the world of musical theatre.
In the title role, Molly Bastable excelled in all areas as the troubled teen, in particular during Why Not Me. Equally good though was Thea Lowe as the deranged Margaret White, pulling off an older character to perfection and strong during When There’s No One. Supporting well were Charisma Louise (Sue Snell) and Sam Broomhall-Tighe (Tommy Ross) who had a marvellous duet with You Shine as well as Once You See and Dreamer in Disguise respectively. As the villainous bullies, we had strong performances from Nancy Minaker (Chris Hargensen) and Thomas Bastable (Billy Nolan) with Casey Michaela and Taylor Simner also pulling off the adult roles well in Miss Gardner and Mr Stephens. There were then strong showings from the other members of Clique Nasty, namely Izzy Williams (Helen), Shayla Gordon (Freida), Ava O’Donaghue (Norma), Charlie McRoberts (Freddy), Lucas Baker (George) and Nathan Thevar-Ward (Stokes). The rest of an excellent cast were Josh Mills, Parker Evans, Cian Grayson, Martha Crump, Hannah Allsop, Kiran Thevar-Ward, Amelia Perry, Francesca Priest, Makena Straker-Sharpe, Macy O’Donaghue, Evan Johnson, Izzy Baker, Erin Grehan and Stanley Flynn-Jones.
Favourite number for me was A Night We’ll Never Forget which I have been singing since the show. Total credit for this production must go to Joe Logan (Director/Choreographer), Simon Wilkinson (Musical Director), Sarah Jennings (Production Assistant/Vocal Coach), Freddie Perry (Assistant Director/Musical Director), Beth Gilbert (Assistant Choreographer) and Emily Ewins (Rehearsal Assistant/Assistant Musical Director). Smile often go for shows outside the mainstream and Carrie was no exception. A thoroughly enjoyable night complete with professional lighting (Jack Tustin from Going Dark) and sound (Daniel Woodhall of DW Technical Services).
Smile’s next production is in January 2027 with Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a show I have not seen to date, but will rectify then. I strongly recommend you do too.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt
*Photos courtesy of Smile Musical Youth Theatre.
