'Once On This Island' at Southwark Playhouse

The latest show at Southwark Playhouse is 'Once On This Island' by the British Theatre Academy. It's all about young actors starting out and that, in itself, is an interesting thing - will any of them still be working in ten years time? There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the show but not always a lot of skill. It's a strange show to put on, not a well known show by any means and a calypso musical is a bit unusual but hey, why not?

It's an odd story that mixes traditional Caribbean island beliefs and gods with modern day French imperialism with the rich white folks on one side of the island and the black "peasants" on the other side, But then there comes a storm to mix it all up. The local gods intervene to save a child who later goes on to save the life of a rich white man and she is then challenged by the god of death to either offer up her life or his? I won't spoil it by revealing what the decision is.

It was interesting enough and quite different and, at only 85 minutes running time there's no time to get bored. I think it's an odd show for an mature/student company to put on. There's no denying the energy of the actors but sometimes it seemed like they were singing simply to be loud without remembering their diction so I couldn't make out the words - all there was was a loud noise. The very energetic dances also seemed to take its toll on a few of the actors who were clearly out of breath and sweating at the end of the later numbers. I only want to see exhausted actors when they're acting exhausted, not when they are exhausted. One who really caught my attention was Chrissie Bhima who played the lead role of Ti Moune and she is definitely worth watching for. At one point her singing voice reminded me of Linda Lewis, not so much Linda's range as the warm tone and quality. I also liked Aviva Tulley as the goddess of love.

There you have it, my first encounter with the British Theatre Academy. The actors all seemed to be having a great time and that's part of it - it they're enjoying what they do then that's half the battle. Well done people!