It’s that time of year again when all the creative sorts come together and amateur productions of Broadway and West End musicals become the norm,so when realising SMUTS 2011 production of ‘Guys and Dolls’ was taking place this week we jumped at the chance to come and see their version of a Broadway classic. Whether your a fan of musicals or not one thing for certain is that SMUTS have proven that even amateur group can do justice to this heavy piece of musical theatre.

Before the show started I was a little dubious as once I entered the theatre I saw, god help me, the live band – for those of you who read the Fame: The Musical review from the Fringe last year will know I have issue with live bands even in musicals. After a little bit of banter between the musical director Scott Sheridan (also Sussex Student Union’s Activities Officer) the musical was about to start and the second the music kicked in it was clear this wasn’t going to be some two-bit production.

A lot of work was put into the music and their passion was clear, making it sound effortless and perfectly balanced. Some sound issues at the start but any slips or mistakes are down to the venue and first night nerves and really didn’t effect the production at all. The music was so smooth it sounded almost recorded.

The production itself is big, a lot of actors and a lot of visibility on the stage the cast make good use of. At times the movement could have been a little cleaner and the choreography a little more gentle but with the space they have and the static need for the scene to remain as is Alexandra Hardman & Sarah Gillett, choreographers, did a good job.

Two scenes stick out and are effortlessly directed and performed by a group of actors who where clearly on the same page as their director, the Havana scene and the crap game in the sewer both choreographed by Liam Darbon. The Havana scene is massive, loads of dancing, music, and in-between actors Molly Berenhaus (Sarah Brown) and Martin Joyce (Sky Masterson) delivered their lines in timed perfection. This was a very masterful scene also aid by the waiter who kept dancing as he brought out their drinks which was another sweet touch to the scene.

The Crap Game was in a way what the musical was building up to yet due impart to time and cost the overall feel of where they ended up being was not visibly conveyed to the audience. But Tom Bucher (Big Jule) and Theo Lloyd-Hughes (Nathan Detroit) brought some much needed real tention to the show as The Greek tried to win back his money. Sitting their in my seat I found myself getting angry at The Greek and at one point wanting to shout out that it was not fair, but theatre etiquette dictates one tries to compose oneself.

SMUTS have produced a musical that on reflection is almost an unachievable task. Trying to get get all the parts together to make this would must have been tiring yet the result is a real triumph.

Standout performances are shared between the four main stars of the show. Matin Joyce’s Sky Masterson is incredibly convincing with a voice that is restrained and gentle which from the start gives you a slight look into his candidacy for religious conversion. And Molly Berenhaus as Sarah Brown is frumpy, honest, warm, and an angelic voice you could listen to for hours and she gives her character a realness that makes the sparring between the two like watching a real-life love affair blossom.

The pairing of Molly and Martin is perfect and they seem to gel so well on stage as to with the pairing of Theo Lloyd-Hughes as Nathan Detroit and Caitlin Wilson as Miss Adelaide. On first meeting Miss Adelaide you fall in love, a pitch perfect 1940s New York accent that is funny and maintained throughout the production and much like Molly and Martin Caitlin and Theo gel instantly on stage making their relationship believable and fun to watch. Theo’s Nathan is wonderful, thoughtful as with the others, and a real connection to the character and the energy of the role. In the crap game scene you feel sorry for him slightly but know that he’s Nathan Detroit so nothing major is going to go wrong for him.

Notable mention goes to Joseph Gavin as Lt Brannigan there was just something about his character I loved and Todd Cooper’s Nicely-Nicely Johnson who’s final song was strong, well balanced, and brought the house down.

On a side note there was another character, a homeless man, who had one of the greatest lines I have ever heard, just amazing!

This was the first night of their run which comes to an end on the 19th February. There where some teething problems with lighting and sound at one point but didn’t distract from the overal production which was skilfully performed and delivered. This is a fitting tribute to the on going legacy of musical theatre groups and that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

This afternoon, well, actual Noon to be precise, we filed in to the rather beautiful Assembly Hall on the Mound to watch the production of The Chronicles of Long Kesh, which was to be our first introduction to drama in Edinburgh Fringe 2009.

And what a start it was.

This performance, after a necessarily bustling start during which we meet many characters quickly and are brought up to speed with the background situation, soon settles to become a most poignant and heart-rending tale of both the fraternity and futility of life within a 1970s and 80s Northern Irish prison camp, during and after the Internment regime of these troubled times.

In particular, it feels slightly odd, at first, to switch from our outside world, to one which sees a brutish, tattooed, motley crew of men sporting skin-heads and builder figures spouting broad Northern Irish one minute, and singing Tamla Motown the next. However, after a while, Martin Lynch’s story kicks in, and this is soon left behind: replaced with a deep affinity for these lovable rogues and genuine feeling for all of the various characters played by this talented cast of six.

The set, made up of just a few pieces of multi-functional wood, provided the minimum of fuss to a story which carried all of it’s weight in human relationships.

We follow the prison guard, Republicans of varying degrees as well as the Unionist side of the troubles, all from the inside of the prison camp.

We hear of their hopes, their dreams. We learn of their loves lost, and regained, only to be lost again. We follow the characters through release, recapture, re-release and more.

This little drama promised little, and delivered so much more than that – for a first show of Fringe 2009, I was truly spoiled, as The Chronicles of Long Kesh brought the house down by bringing a tear to an eye, more laughs than the subject matter would indicate, and a genuinely pleasing conclusion.

There is also some unexpectedly excellent singing talent on offer – save that of the character “Toots” whom the audience could not help but like, particularly given the friendship he developed with the seagulls of the camp.

Just under two hours of theatre passes by in what feels, at most, half that as we follow several concurrent lives through shared, yet differing, experiences of life in the prison, all set to a backdrop of music of the era coupled with a pulsating beat reminiscent of the marching bands which stirred so much trouble inside and without the perimeter fencing at the prison camp.

This show is an emotional and eye-opening journey, during which one grows to love several flawed, rough-round-the-edges, likeable and, most of all, utterly believable characters.

5 Stars.

You can catch The Chronicles of Long Kesh at the Assembley Hall Noon most days for the entirety of the Edinburgh Fringe 2009. Tickets are £13-£15. Visit the Assembly Edinburgh website page on this show, and order online, by clicking here.