STUDENT THEATRE REVIEW: Bad Girls - UCEN Manchester College, Manchester

 

The second year Musical Theatre students, leaving for places new after this, presented their final show as students of UCEN Manchester College this evening, and this was the musical, Bad Girls. 

The musical is set in a women's prison in London and is based on the once popular TV series of the same name. With a book by Maureen Chadwick and Ann McManus, and music by Kath Gotts, the musical never really truly feels as gritty and realistic as the TV drama did, and there has been some attempt at humour too, which seems oddly placed in this scenario.

The stage setting was basic and obvious: a prison wing, with two cell doors and a staircase leading to the upper level. But that is where it stopped. The upper level was simply a black curtain and the sides of the stage were left with the black tabs which were insufficient to block the movement of the cast in the wings which we could plainly see. The other scenes and requisite set for them were brought in and out by cast as necessary; it worked but was not optimal. Unfortunately, the same applied to some of the directing by Jenny Meredith and Michael Markey. Predictable and repetitive direction becomes uninspiring and unimaginative, which means the pace of the musical becomes somewhat flat and staid. Perhaps this "fault" can also be laid at the feet of the writers too, since the whole premise for this storyline - that a prison death being a "big thing" (which it isn't - deaths in prison are much more common than people would like to imagine), and the fact that all prisons have CCTV cameras installed on all wings, almost makes a mockery of the show. Yes, of course the authorities would investigate the suicide, but looking at the CCTV footage of the night before would surely find the culprit much quicker, and the whole thing would be hushed-up and the prisoners never know. That is the 'reality' of this situation.

The sound levels were also problematic this evening sadly. There were a couple of mic glitches which can be overlooked, but unfortunately the mics were not set high enough - or the band was playing and sounding too loud, or perhaps both! The band drowned out underscored dialogue and it was especially the drums to which this applied. The signposting of the storyline was not extremely clear at times, but this may have been due to the fact that dialogue was inaudible. The lighting design was also a little strange too. The use of specials intrigued me - they didn't seem to compliment the action or thought on stage - and sadly insufficient cover was given when the cast were acting or singing / dancing on the edges of their performance area.

However, none of the above was the fault of the cast, who all worked tirelessly and flawlessly to try and create believable and rounded characters. Being only teenagers themselves, they hopefully will have never had any first - or even second- hand experience of such institutions and how they are run, and so, bringing as much to bear as they did is highly creditable. A large ensemble helped in the larger chorus numbers and a lovely tap routine ensued in the second act. The principals were all noteworthy, and the made a true ensemble and showed varied and true-to-life aspects of prisoners and their attitudes. Especial mention in this regard should go to Eve-Rose Pietkiewicz (Shell), Leylah Daydon (Denny), and Maddie Mayo (Nikki).

Reviewer - Alastair Zyggu