After regretfully arriving later than the advertised start time, I had the pleasure of attending Macclesfield College’s end of year production, in which students presented a parody of the classic hit musical Mamma Mia - ‘Here I Go Again’ - featuring the music of Swedish pop group ABBA.
Once I realised that the theatre space is located in the Academy site of the campus rather than the college itself, I got inside for the interval, for which I must apologise (and did verbally) to the cast and production team. I was however told that I missed a rather long technical problem in which cast members had to ‘ad lib’ for the period, in the absence of recorded music but this will be referred to and addressed further in.
The show itself followed much the same format as the iconic and much-loved (by most, usually those who have seen the stage show and not the film at all) show, joining teenage Sophie (Georgina Percival) as she seeks to find her true father by inviting all three possible dads - Bill (Jack Brown), Harry (Simon Pickford) and Sam (Cameron Hollis) - to her wedding without her mother Donna (Aimee Jackson), who she lives with in Greece, knowing. 
With the music brilliantly intertwined around the gripping yet witty script, as with the professional version, there are tensions and emotive points, directed wonderfully by Performing Arts tutor Sarah Bacon, with assistance from Hannah Bleakley and Laura Perry and choreography from ensemble cast member Gabriella Boswell.
Highlights were many but of note was the portrayal of seduction and cheekiness between Donna’s friend Tanya (Jasmine Forster) and wannabe hunk Pepper (Connor Wyse) during ‘Does Your Mother Know’, her other friend Rosie (Sheldon Rawlinson) and Bill in ‘Take A Chance On Me’ and the poignancy of ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ and ‘The Winner Takes It All’ in which Donna, as did the whole cast, shone. I always love ‘I Have A Dream’ and the cast should all be extremely proud of themselves for their characterisations.
Donna and the fathers were very well portrayed and Sophie, her fiancée Sky (Joseph Watts), hid friends Pepper and Eddie (Rory Mason) stood out, as did Tanya and Rosie, although I did feel Rosie could have been more natural as oppose to overly over the top (maybe down to the confidence or comfortableness of the actor) but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Lisa and Ali (Isobelle Yoxall and Hannah Turton respectively) were good also.
I return to my confusion as to why a live band, under the direction of Music teacher Adam Kelly, was not utilised for all of the songs, but when the organist cannot play the widely-recognisable ‘Here Comes The Bride’, I can maybe appreciate the decision although they did well when they were used.
The failure, technically, came with relying, as many amateur shows do, on an engineers (or multiple) who have not had time to fully get to grips with the playlist/tracklist/CD they have had prepped for them to play easily, the same stands for the lighting. I believe the early technical fault that I missed was down to the computer rather than human error?! If you need a reliable engineer who won’t charge much, if anything, give us a shout.
All in all, from a performance perspective, it was clear that the cast thoroughly enjoyed entertaining us, and with the simple set (designed by cast members Nicole Hotchin and Hannah Turton) and the microphones being on when they were, the show was very effective and, although I didn’t before, didn’t doubt the competency of the performers, all of whose progress I look forward to monitoring for when they make it big in the industry.
I am very glad I saw even half of the show, after talking to and meeting some of the students a few weeks prior when I popped in to give an insight into the world of theatre.
Keep a look out for future shows at the College and we will be sure to make you aware of them once we know.
Reviewer: Chris Oatway
