All The Fun Of The Fair Regent Theatre

DAVID Essex is well known for his musical talents, but could he act? All The Fun Of The Fair certainly put this to the test as the show opened to a full house last night at the Regent Theatre in Hanley.

Leading lady Louise English began the evening with a beautifully sang, soulful interpretation of Just Another Winter's Day. English looked every bit the sultry fortune teller Rosa whose predictions of heartbreak and tragedy were destined to come true.

This is the story of a travelling fair struggling in the changing world of 1970s Britain. Fair owner Levi (Essex) still mourns the death of his wife whilst his headstrong son Jack craves for change. Meanwhile, Rosa schemes to win love for both her and her daughter, but of course, the best-laid plans always go wrong.

The music achieved a clever balance between the familiar and the less well known, and introduced the audience to some great new pieces. Essex avoided stealing the limelight while providing the backbone to the show, both musically and in his character as Levi. Favourite hits such as Lamplight and If I Could were performed by different cast members and given a fresh interpretation, this ensured an unpredictable edge to the evening.

Full sized dodgem cars, a motorcycle race, moving carousel horses and a rifle range – all helped to create enough ambiance to almost smell the toffee apples!

The tension develops slowly but surely over the course of both acts. The sense of ultimate doom was at times tangible and toward the end you could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium as the plot weaved the final twists.

A combination of some strong performances – including from less prominent characters such as Barry Bloxham as the sinister Druid, the superb set and wonderful music, predominantly written by Essex, made this an outstanding production which completely deserved the standing ovation it received.

Fern Basnett