The Drowsy Chaperone defied the laws of physics

Have you ever had a theatrical experience wherein a plane descended from the ceiling? No? How about one with actual laws-of-physics defying teleportation live on stage? Not that either?
 Well what about an utterly ridiculous yet decidedly slick theatrical piece, involving five different dialects, a multitude of dancing styles, a spotlight, a slightly drunken host/narrator who eliminates the fourth wall and has a nervous breakdown mid-way through the performance? No again?!

Then surely you weren’t present at the Just So Society’s recent production of The Drowsy Chaperone.
The production opened in semi darkness as Man in Chair (Elliot Douglas), a character best described as the love child of Truman Capote and Graham Norton, ruminated on the subject of musical theatre whilst approaching the only lit part of the stage.

After having sat down, he sifted through his prized collection of musical theatre records, and pulled out his favourite one: The Drowsy Chaperone. As if by magic, whilst playing the record it explodes into life behind him.

This tale chronicles the life of Janet Van De Graff (Emma Seckel) who has defiantly chosen to abandon her life of showbiz to wed the illustrious Robert Martin (Matthew Colley). However, the financial concerns of Mr Feldzeig and his criminal associates (Joe Tantillo, Will Costello and Jonathan Hewitt respectively) and the careless management of a chaperone intoxicated to the level of drowsiness (Stephanie Boyle) pose a threat to this wedding actually taking place.

But as Man in Chair says himself, all musicals end with a happy ending.
 One of The Drowsy Chaperone’s primary strengths was its set. With a checkered black and white floor, two gigantic windows hanging in the back (making an imaginary door between them), large cuboid shaped decorations in the foreground that doubled up as fold out beds, and-as aforementioned-a model plane that occasionally descended down from above, the byre main stage was unrecognisable.

Anyone who has seen a play in the byre, or even more so, worked in the space knows that it is somewhat gigantic. Especially in comparison with our deeply imperfect but impossible to stop loving alternative; the barron theatre. However, whilst in small spaces such as the barron, the complete absence of a set can still feel sufficient given its size, in the byre a lack of creative and intelligent set design can leave the stage seeming sparse and empty which is non-conducive to a satisfying artistic piece.

With The Drowsy Chaperone however, the stage felt full and vibrant, brimming with colour and invoking the 1920’s before our very eyes. With this box ticked, the actors were given their proper platform to shine, and shine they did.

The production was overflowing with big, nuanced and entertaining characters. Actors had made distinct character choices and committed to these with real conviction, a refreshing element of the piece.

To cite but a few examples, Stephanie Boyle gave a highly commendable performance as the Chaperone. She was believably intoxicated for the full duration of the show, which as simple as it sounds, is no easy task to perform with the level of truthfulness that Boyle accomplished. Her interpretation of the chaperone had a vivaciousness that was artfully coupled with a lack of conscious engagement with her immediate surroundings and a secret line of communication between herself and the audience, exposed through her various asides.

This gave her character a humorous and endearing quality, which worked well with the audience. Elliot Douglas’ character acting was also notably impressive, accurately embodying the mannerisms of a somewhat camp, well-humoured and charismatic middle aged man. His conversational tone created a kinship between himself and the audience which gave him access to a more organic and satirical style of humour, a style which he executed excellently.
The vocal strength of the cast in itself deserves a mention, particularly Emma Seckel, Cristopher Miller and Stephanie Boyle all of whom had striking vocal power. Whilst the unrelenting grins of musical theatre performers can be so endearing that it makes it all look so easy, I’ve been led to believe that singing whilst dancing is in fact a notoriously difficult feat.

This cast, however, managed to maintain their vocal strength whilst performing the choreographed dance sequences with aplomb, an achievement not to be overlooked.
 There were a few minor components of the production worth criticizing. Namely, a few fluffed lines and one or two instances where the singing was slightly out of time. However, these miniscule difficulties in no way detracted from the excellence of the piece as a whole.

The Drowsy Chaperone was a vibrant, slick, comedically brilliant and deeply entertaining show that elicited some of the most shamelessly loud laughs I have ever heard in the Saint Andrews theatre. I sincerely hope that this is only one of many directorial exploits to come by Kate Kitchens and her team.

Photos by Jamie Jones.