Reviews
Reviews
UK Theatre Web: 08Dec05: 
What a delight to see the Roundhouse Theatre at the Dover Discovery Centre used to its full potential once again - and to such fantastic effect. The Blackfish Academy’s production of The Musical Hood, which opened on Wednesday night, was a breath of fresh air for the Dover town centre amphitheatre, blowing away the memories of Captain Crab and his animatronic friends, and bringing an air of excitement back to the venue.
Dover’s new theatrical company presented this modern take on an old story with real style. The musical tells the story of Robin of Locksley and the tale was brought neatly up to date with the merry men as urban warriors in combat gear, Friar Tuck as a hard drinking Hell’s Angel, the Sheriff of Nottingham and his men as riot Police, and wives and families as peace protestors. Set pieces like the Lionheart chorus and the Silver Arrow Show were very effective, and the unique space in the roundhouse was well used.
Matt Clayton and Rachael Chapman interacted well as Robin Hood and Maid Marian, with a thoroughly enjoyable evil Sheriff played by director Richard Esdale, backed by his slimy side-kick, Sir Guy played by Matthew Buddle. The Merry Men gave an entertaining performance led by the irrepressible Michael Anders as Will Scarlet, stalwart of the local stage Mike Scurfield as Little John, and character actor Barry Clayton as Patrick O’Flannagan. Keith Cox’s turn as Friar Tuck was outstanding and, the chorus, including many first time actors and a range of youngsters as the families led by Sandra Johnson and Karol Steele as Beth Little and Anne Scarlet, did themselves and the town proud and proved what a wealth of talent Dover has to offer.
The Blackfish Academy was set up earlier this year to provide a high quality educational program for young people in Dover in the performing arts. They have been running a series of dramatic workshops on Saturday afternoons at the Discovery Centre, and this was their first major production. If the opening night we attended tonight is anything to go by, we have a lot to look forward to in the future from this exciting new group.
Ends
Review by: Cllr Ken Tranter, Mayor of Dover
User Reviews
USER (08Dec05): What a delight to see the Roundhouse Theatre at the Dover Discovery Centre used to its full potential once again - and to such fantastic effect. The Blackfish Academy’s production of The Musical Hood, which opened on Wednesday night, was a breath of fresh air for the Dover town centre amphitheatre, blowing away the memories of Captain Crab and his animatronic friends, and bringing an air of excitement back to the venue.
Dover’s new theatrical company presented this modern take on an old story with real style. The musical tells the story of Robin of Locksley and the tale was brought neatly up to date with the merry men as urban warriors in combat gear, Friar Tuck as a hard drinking Hell’s Angel, the Sheriff of Nottingham and his men as riot Police, and wives and families as peace protestors. Set pieces like the Lionheart chorus and the Silver Arrow Show were very effective, and the unique space in the roundhouse was well used.
Matt Clayton and Rachael Chapman interacted well as Robin Hood and Maid Marian, with a thoroughly enjoyable evil Sheriff played by director Richard Esdale, backed by his slimy side-kick, Sir Guy played by Matthew Buddle. The Merry Men gave an entertaining performance led by the irrepressible Michael Anders as Will Scarlet, stalwart of the local stage Mike Scurfield as Little John, and character actor Barry Clayton as Patrick O’Flannagan. Keith Cox’s turn as Friar Tuck was outstanding and, the chorus, including many first time actors and a range of youngsters as the families led by Sandra Johnson and Karol Steele as Beth Little and Anne Scarlet, did themselves and the town proud and proved what a wealth of talent Dover has to offer.
The Blackfish Academy was set up earlier this year to provide a high quality educational program for young people in Dover in the performing arts. They have been running a series of dramatic workshops on Saturday afternoons at the Discovery Centre, and this was their first major production. If the opening night we attended tonight is anything to go by, we have a lot to look forward to in the future from this exciting new group.
Ends
Review by: Cllr Ken Tranter, Mayor of Dover
USER (01Dec05): Fun, Different, fantastic!
The production tells the story of the legend of Robin Hood, but in a very modern way - the Merry Men as Urban Warriors in combat gear, Friar Tuck as a hard-drinking Hell's Angel, the Sheriff and his Men as Riot Policemen, and the Wives and Families as anti-war protestors. With guns instead of swords, and Academy shows its very modern approach, which involves using many aspects of performance including fight choreography.
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