Barney Hudson, who is also able to count Hamilton and Bugsy Malone among his past musical credits, and will soon be appearing in a West End production of The Greatest Showman, put the 35-strong cast through their paces as part of a workshop held at Ladies’ College.
The main focus of the session was rehearsal of a sequence featuring the song ‘Peron’s Latest Flame’, a busy scene involving most, if not all, of the cast.
Mr Hudson was impressed with what he had seen from the young performers.
‘They’re smashing it,’ he said.
‘I can tell when they give the words and the songs real commitment, it really makes a difference.’
He admired the willingness that each of the cast had shown in getting involved with the production, and urged them to continue to do that, both in performing and in wider life.
‘When you start doing something you might be really bad at it, but if you keep doing it you will get better and you will end up loving what you’re doing.’
‘At their age, I think throwing yourself into whatever you’re doing, be it academic work or performing or anything, is so important, and it’s so important to not hold back.’
Rehearsals for Evita began back in September, and Ladies’ College head of drama Maggie King said it was a musical she had been looking to do for a few years.
‘The last one we did was Les Miserables and the students absolutely smashed it, so I thought giving Evita a go, even though it’s quite tricky, would be amazing.’
The production’s length is approximately two hours, but Mrs King said preparations were going well, with the final performances planned for March.
‘It’s quite a meaty musical and we are about halfway through it at the moment, but we are well on track. Everyone is in it together,’ she said.
She described Mr Hudson’s appearance as ‘refreshing’ for the cast, particularly in terms of the technical pointers he gave.
‘He’s been highlighting the differences in movement between the various social groups depicted in the musical, and how we get that movement to be more clean and dynamic. The students have been so excited to meet him and to learn from him.’
Evita cast members Zahra Kiaie, 12, Flossie Glynn-Riley, 16, and Heidi Baldry, 17, were all generous in their acclaim for Mr Hudson.
‘He’s been really great, he’s shown us some amazing techniques and really good moves,’ Zahra said.
Heidi said the advice he had given in relation to vocal performance and articulation had been ‘powerful’, while Flossie praised his engagement and how he got into character.
All three girls agreed he had inspired them to pursue dramatic careers in the future.
The Ladies’ College will perform Evita at the Princess Royal Centre for the Performing Arts on 17-20 March next year.
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