SPOT ON MIKE! Mike Allen was
spot on with his 'astounding!' verdict on the Stage One youth
theatre production of Les Miserables at Ferneham Hall, Fareham.
It was an evening of vibrant
brilliance, superbly confident principal voices, wonderful ensemble
work and expert direction. Britain's got talent alright –
and its not on the small screen.
Dave Stretton, Waterlooville
WHAT A SHOW !
On Saturday 5th June My Partner
& I, together with some friends, had the privelege (or should
I say great pleasure?) of seeing the best performance of "Le
Mis" I have seen. No not in the West End, but in a provincial
theatre in Fareham. Not even by a touring company but a youth
theatre group, not one person being over 18 yrs old.
The performance was breathtaking the cast totally believable,
the music stunning and the voices were phenominal, hard to believe
these were only youths, and amateur at that. And the passion
they showed belied their ages, they became the characters they
were portraying, singleing out the performance of Sean Ridley,
which was stunning. He was Jean Valjean on the night but that
is not to take away any credit from the rest of the cast who
were superb. I particularly enjoyed the performance of Chris
Hutton (Thenardier) and Megan Healy (Mme Thenardier), they made
me smile a great deal. Natasha Brown (Fantine) together with
Hannah Mills (Eponine), Rowan Fox (Marius), Jamie Riley (Javert),
fabulous voices matched by their performance had the audience
spellbound and when I hear about kids today being bad and run
down all the time the bemoaners should go ad see these great
kids.
We went to the show expecting, well i'm not sure, but we were
treated to a fabulous performance by a great cast of wonderful
kids under 18 year old. Why go to the West End when you can
see performances Like this.
Well done indeed by "Stage One Amateur Youth Theatre Compamy
" Keep it up.
Dave Harison, Angerstein Mews, North End, Portsmouth
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Letters, emails to Stage One
To Mr and Mrs Ivemy
Fantastic, even better than last time........
Just thought you would like to know that all the hard work that
goes into these productions by the adults of Stage One is much
appreciated. You all deserve medals. I hope the young people
really appreciate how lucky they are to be involved with such
a dedicated group.
Music was fantastic, as was the scenery, costumes etc. And the
actual performers WOW !
Thank you all so much, not just from me, but from the others
from Southampton that are now your fans.
Keep up the good work,
Best wishes to you all
Jean Sartain. (Friend Of Stage One)
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WOW !
I’m truly in awe of the production I have just seen.
I’ve seen this show 5 times in the West End both in London
and US…
But this has to be the best. Such great singing and acting from
all performers – I felt more moved from this show than
any of the others. You must have worked so hard – it really
showed.
Well done Stage One!
Bronwen Vearncombe
Swanmore
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We just wanted to say how fantastic
your show was. We really enjoyed Les Miserables, and thought
the acting and singing was even better than previous years.
You must be really pleased.
Well done, and we look forward to next year.
Jane George, Rosemary and Edwina
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A huge thank you to all the
Stage One team for such a fantastic production of Les Mis. It
is just amazing what you are able to produce and how much the
children enjoy their involvement. Thank you so much for all
your hard work and for providing such a rare positive environment
for the kids to develop and express themselves.
Can't wait until Guys and Dolls!
Bella and Richard
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Thank you for the chance to see
your show. The quality of the singing was wonderful and the
number of performers was amazing. It was a very good evening
for us. Thank you for this opportunity.
Joy and Arthur, St Wilfrid's Church
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Remembering the '06 Les Mis and
the wonderful barricade scene I thought nothing could surpass
that ----- BUT YOU DID! It really was a tour de force.
It was a spendid performance with no weak links and the barricade
scene was a real show stopper.. For all involved both ON and
OFF stage we shall remember it.
My friends and I would like to thank you all for the tremendously
hard work you have put in to achieve such a high standard of
production and inspiration for the cast. What a start in life
these youngsters have been given !
Thanks and very best wishes to you all.
Rosemary Billett … Friend
Of Stage One (FOSO)
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Please convey my sincere thanks
to your chairperson and Committee for inviting me to see “Les
Miserables – School Edition" which I thought was
superbly presented with fine sets, especially the barricade.
You have some very talented youngsters and it was great to see
them enjoying themselves on stage and providing us with believable
characters.
John Barnes, NODA South East
Regional Councillor
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David,
I just want to congratulate the company on a superb performance
of Les Miserables. Sean's portrayal of Jean Valjean was spellbinding.
Whilst the whole company did exceptionally well, the evening
was spoilt by the appalling work of the sound technicians. On
many occasions during Thursday's performance:
• some microphones were not working or not even turned
up
• some microphones were turned up during the time someone
was singing - you could sense the slide control being moved!
• may harmonies were missed because of the above
It really didn't do justice to the youngsters. Despite this,
they rose to the occasion and it was a pleasure to be there.
I am quite sure that professional performers at Ferneham Hall
would not put up with such amateur technicians-----and there
is no need for Stage One to put up with it either.
Here's hoping the staff at Ferneham Hall can get their act together
for GS & Ds as I am the kids in Stage One will.
Kevin
