Sunshine on Leith is described as a story of love: platonic love, romantic love, love for your home and even self-love… and you could certainly feel the love on the Joseph Rowntree Theatre stage.
Central Hall Musical Society have produced yet another wonderful show, bringing the beauty of Edinburgh to a cherished York community theatre in this impressive performance.
Comprising music from The Proclaimers, the audience were blessed by the vocal performances and talent shared on stage — and to say they did the music justice is an understatement.
Sunshine on Leith is at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 February.
The story follows two childhood best friends, Davy and Ally, returning home after serving in the army. Ally returns to his beloved Liz — who also happens to be Davy’s sister — and Davy starts a whole new relationship of his own. Along with their parents, friends and colleagues they share the twists and turns that life brings, including an unexpected return from the past for Davy and Liz’s father, Rab.
With familiar musical numbers and new favourites, you will be toe-tapping your way through this much loved musical.
The underlining theme and elements of the script felt extremely topical for the world in which we are currently living; touching on the impact of Brexit, the privatisation of the NHS and reflecting on the pay and treatment on healthcare workers. It felt relatable in some way to all watching.
However, even with such serious issues in the background, there was still a beautiful story at the focal point and characters with great depth and heart.
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The leads all shone in their respective roles — including ex-servicemen Davy and Ally, who were played by Will Parsons and Will Harvey. From the moment you first hear them duet together in perfect harmony you know you’re in for an impressive evening. Accompanied by their love interests Liz (Darcey Chambers) and Yvonne (Kayla Vicente) the four were able to bring a professional standard to the stage and their on-stage chemistry was excellent.
I particularly adored the portrayal of nurse Liz and her desire for something more — she had a strength to her that was admirable and you couldn’t help but be on her side. It was a standout performance from Chambers.
Lotty Farmer and Vincent Klein took on the roles of parents Jean and Rab — it is never easy to portray older characters/relations when working with fellow actors of the same age, however they did so with ease. I felt they reminded many of us of our own parents with their affectionate bickering and playful comments towards one another.
The whole cast created some truly magical moments, especially vocally, and were supported by a full band, led by musical director Vicky Painter. And of course the finale; the famous ‘500 Miles’ got the audience clapping and singing along, as they exuded energy from the stage.
Romilly Swingler and Nathan Livingstone are responsible for the direction and choreography for this production. Some of the numbers felt very busy at times with choreography being the default, it would have been nice for the characters to have moments of raw acting rather than filling these moments with contemporary style movement.
However this did work well in some softer moments, including the beautiful titular song ‘Sunshine on Leith’. It was moving to see the portrayal of a young Rab and Jean, and Lotty Farmer led the song exquisitely. Lucy Thickett was another impressive soloist with her performance of ‘Simple Things’ mid-show, a beautiful voice that I’m sure would be welcomed at all wedding parties.
The set was basic, and presented a beautiful backdrop of Leith as the main focus. It was accompanied at times by some realistic set pieces including an impressive hospital set up in Act 2. I do wish this was the standard throughout as I did feel items such as the bus stop signage could have been created with more care. Nevertheless, as a university society for students and produced by students I give them my full appreciation for the hard work that has been pumped lovingly into this production.
Knowing such a high standard of delivery was created by a cast, band, production team, tech crew and designers who are all students — alongside studying for their own degrees — is remarkable. They should all be proud of what they have produced.
If you would like to take a trip to Scotland cheaper than the price of a train fare then head on down to Jo Ro and see this superb production.
Sunshine on Leith is at Joseph Rowntree Theatre until Saturday 25 Febraury. Tickets start from £8 and are available here.