Review by Ellen Pather.
This Saturday, 19 May 2018 saw us off to the Elizabeth Sneddon to catch Kickstart Production’s “Camelot”.
Hot off the heels of spending the day watching Harry marry Meghan, it was certainly a royal affair travelling from Windsor to Camelot all in one day.
A right, royal treat!
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe and tells the tale of King Arthur, his love Guinevere and his knights of the legendary Round Table. And to not mention Best Knight Lancelot, and the unsung hero Excalibur, would be totally remiss.
Well, any show that opens to thunderous applause is a good indication and Camelot goes on to deliver an outstanding evening of fine acting, superior stages and a bountiful display of song & dance.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
The Elizabeth Sneddon is a welcome reprieve for theatre-lovers, slowly and steadily churning out productions to grateful Durban audiences who often find themselves waiting for good shows to happen. The theatre is small and intimate, well laid-out where most rows will find you a good seat. And the stage comes out to meet you.
So when one encounters a show as excellent as Camelot, you actually feel privileged to have experienced it on such a personal level.
Certainly, Camelot is worthy of a larger stage, but it proved to be a true delight to all who enjoyed it at the Sneddon theatre. And if the rousing standing ovation at the end was anything to go by, Durban is in for a sure treat.
So back to the show – Everything about this production was simply spectacular.
Some of my favourites included:
* The angelic singing voice of Guinevere played by Jessica Sole will transport you from the forests of Camelot, to the courts of King Arthur. Sole simply glides along from scene to scene
* An actual carefully-choreographed fencing nano-scene
* Merlin, played by Peter Court (who also acts as King Pellinor later) – although his appearance was relatively small, his humour set the tone for a delightful play
* Steven Stead plays a very convincing King Arthur, and the pure emotion that he pours into his every role and mood, translates from stage to seat – making him a very likeable and revered king.
* Finally, I was utterly enchanted with the wardrobe – I cannot describe the magnificence of the costumes. Every scene saw its players splendidly clothed courtesy of Terrance Bray Design, adding to the grandeur of Arthurs’ court _ the pics below are a small glimpse.
In short, this show was spectacular – Don’t miss this one, Durban. It’s a winner – book now at Computicket and you could soon find yourself rising to a standing ovation to Kickstart Production’s “Camelot”
The show runs till 3 June 2018
Not suitable for children under 8 years old.
Ellen is a blogger from Durban, South Africa. Chronicles of a Girl, Mrs and working mother-of-3. A cog-in-the-wheel, she draws on her everyday experience and surroundings to inspire, encourage and celebrate the ordinary. You can visit her blog on the website link below.