“There was no disputing the stage was alive with talent tonight”
Cathedral Academy of Performing Arts, or CAPA as it is known more commonly, has a solid reputation in the area as a quality post-16 college and attracts young people from across the region to its Drama, Dance and Musical Theatre courses. This evening’s entertainment was a celebration and showcase for the 2nd year students who for many would be appearing in this as their final show at the college, before many head off to continue their training at some of the UK’s most prestigious Performing Arts schools. There was no disputing the stage was alive with talent tonight, some of these young people were exceptional and I am confident will enjoy success beyond their time at “Wakefield’s School for the Arts”.
The evening took on the theme of “Stateside” featuring two acts of songs that were linked by an American theme. The opening number “Born in The USA” set the tone for the evening with the full company exploding onto stage in a well-executed number with high-octane choreography and strong ensemble vocals. Unfortunately the programme only listed each of the performers individually and did not mention who the featured performers were in each number which is a real shame as many deserved to be highlighted – after a little detective work based on the programme comments and the photographs I hope to have selected some correctly, but please forgive me if not.
After a few of the songs you very much got the sense of a CAPA style coming through. The choreography is strong, almost aggressive at times and whilst the performers execute it flawlessly there were times where it needed more variety as by the second act some motifs became repetitive. Each person on stage is, however, totally focused with an absolute sense of professionalism. 
When dancing they exude a wonderful energy and commitment to each movement with facial expressions that capture the emotion and style of the performance. The dancing in the show was absolutely its strength with some strong ensemble numbers as well as some stand out solos and smaller group numbers. The young man who sang and danced his way through “Graceland” stood out as being an exceptional performer (Daniel Nattrass), as did a couple of the other males who, by trying to match faces to names, I think were Kaine Ruddach and John-William Watson. I particularly enjoyed the contemporary choreography which I felt often echoed the style of Christopher Bruce.
Where the choreography was at its finest it was dynamic, energetic, slick and matched the choice of song, but at times there was simply too much going on, with too many people on such a small stage and didn’t necessarily reflect the choice of song. There was also a sense that the performers were stronger dancers than they were singers and perhaps this is why so much was put into the choreography. Don’t get me wrong these students could sing, but not to the same standard as some of the dancing on stage. Some of my favourite moments included “Are You Going To San Francisco?” which featured some lovely harmonies, but I was a little put off by some of the “Hippy” smiles and expressions which became altogether too twee by the end of the number. “Stars Fell on Alabama” featured particularly nice vocals by the female lead (which I am assuming again from a little detective work in the programme was Jenna Mclean) and also featured some lovely choreography. George Griffiths gave a solid rendition of “Walking in Memphis” and was well supported by the company. The stand out vocal performance came in the form of the young lady who sang “Hollywood” (Aimee Good) whose vocals which were powerful yet appeared effortless in this nicely staged number featuring another talented male dancer Joe Timpson, who apparently will be going to Bird College later this year.
Some of the numbers tonight did however fall a little flat for me. I was disappointed by “Jet Set” which lacked vocal attack, particularly from the male ensemble who had also appeared to have hired costumes that were at least a size too big for them. “American Dream” also lacked the sparkle that it does in Miss Saigon, with a disappointing choice in choreography which didn’t quite capture the spirit of the song and the mass of Fosse-style writhing just seemed a very odd choice and didn’t do much to support the male singer who also had issues with a crackling microphone to contend with. “Midnight Train To Georgia” was the only number that didn’t feature choreography with it but whilst the lead vocals (Rachel Jacobs?) and harmonies were good, the staging left this number feeling like it had something missing.
All songs were accompanied by a fantastic live band headed by an exceptional pianist Shane Durrant, who also doubled as our entertainer before the show and during the interval in the bar area, where he sang a selection of songs that also showcased his excellent voice. The band also provided the links between each song as the performers would disappear to complete costume changes ready for the next number; unfortunately this also meant that between each act we waited for about 2 minutes for the next act to start, which I am afraid led to a slowness in the pace and didn’t quite allow the show to flow with the energy that it should have - I am sure the producers could have done something more here to keep the pace and synergy of each scene.
Overall this was a highly enjoyable night and some of my critique is more directed at the choice of the material and staging rather than the performers themselves. There is no doubt that the performers that featured in this production were all excellent and in many cases were outstanding. I am quite sure that many have a very bright future ahead of them and it is obvious that they have benefitted from a rigorous and challenging programme of study which culminated in tonight’s performance. I wish all of these young performers a very successful future and very much hope to see them in a theatre again soon, which I hope for some may be in CAPA’s next production, “Sweeney Todd”, which is due to be performed in the Summer – I can’t wait!
Reviewer: Ashley Price
Reviewed: 16th April 2016
