Me And My Girl - YOG youngsters shine in classic musical

Me and My Girl at the Albany Theatre, Coventry from 12 - 15 November.

Review by Alison Manning.

Get yourself down to the Albany Theatre for the perfect antidote to these gloomy grey wet days. Coventry Youth Operetta Group’s (YOG) latest production. Directed and choreographed by Craig Garner, with help from Assistant choreographer Niamh Lawrence and Musical Director Claire Tyler, Me and My Girl, is a joyous old-fashioned musical, complete with live band, performed by enthusiastic youngsters, liable at any moment to break out into song, or even a whole cast tap dance.

Bill, a lad from Lambeth discovers he is the lost heir to a title, large house and fortune, which comes as a big of a shock to the ingrained cockney, but possibly not as much of a shock as it is to his aristocratic relatives who were hoping to benefit themselves. To fully inherit he must prove himself able to behave like a gentleman, but does this include giving up his Cockney girlfriend Sally? Freddie Graham and Beth Mattock shine in their central roles as Bill and Sally respectively as they negotiate this new unfamiliar world and work out the best way forward, with a few wrong turns along the way. Other notable performances were from Cabe Jackson as aristocratic but sympathetic Sir John Tremayne and Jaxon Drage as Herbert Parchester, the family solicitor, who sings a catchy song of legal advice!

Although at first shocked by Bill’s lower-class ways and bemused by his Cockney rhyming slang, some of his new acquaintances soon start to use it themselves. This delightful musical is suffused with jokes and humorous moments as the characters work out what is most important to them. Memorable quips include a comment on whether Sally had good blood “She’s not anaemic!” and a comment in response to a statement that Lambeth couldn’t be a bad place as one of their ancestors lived there: “But he was the Archbishop of Canterbury.”

Originally performed in the 1930s, with some later revisions, it is a joy to see this large cast of youngsters getting to grips with this old time musical. Although some elements of the plot are possibly slightly jarring to modern audiences, such as the importance placed on having the correct accent, there are some catchy numbers here that I suspect will be stuck in my head for days, such as the classics “Leaning on a Lamppost”, “The Sun has got his hat on” and “The Lambeth Walk,”  as well as more previously unfamiliar tunes. There are some great solo performances, as well as energetic and impressively harmonised and choreographed group numbers. The 11-piece live band really add to this too, from the opening notes of the overture and the teasing hints of tunes to come.

The set is ambitious but practical, portraying the frontage of a stately mansion that can be rotated, allowing the action to take place on the inside or the outside, there are also numerous backdrops for different settings, such as the drawing room, the kitchen, the library (complete with portraits through which ghostly ancestors can be glimpsed), as well as the obligatory Lambeth lamppost. The myriad of costume changes for its large cast also adds to the atmosphere and helps set the scene, though it must be a logistical nightmare!

The enthusiasm of these youngsters is infectious as the blast out the songs and dance out their routines, sometimes literally overflowing into the aisles, well there are about 64 of them if I’ve counted correctly! So, if you want to indulge in some cheery, hum along, toe tapping tunes and gentle humour in this traditional feel good tale of love, lords and lampposts, go and see this show and reward the hard work and dedication of these youngsters who have been practising for six months, trying in particular to master the joint skills of tap dancing and spoon playing in the process!

Tickets for Me and My Girl at the Albany Theatre can be found on the theatre’s website: www.albanytheatre.co.uk/shows/yog-me-and-my-girl/