Camp Rock: The Musical
*****
The Atrium, University of South Wales, Cardiff, Sun 10 Mar
The first thing that hits me as I enter The Atrium Theatre in Cardiff University is the sheer professionalism afforded these kids at the Kinetic School Of Performing Arts. This is another level from your average kids production. With a professional stage and lighting set up and a capacity crowd on hand, we’re already eager to see what lies ahead. Tonight’s production by the Kinetic kids is Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical, so it’s going to be faux-American accents and high spirited hi-jinx for the next couple of hours, as you might expect from a Disney show. Bring it on!
Camp Rock tells the story of young musician Mitchie Torres, who dreams of becoming a rock star at Camp Rock. But there’s the threat of a new camp opening nearby by a bitter rival, promising better facilities and higher wages for the tutors, and the kids are forced into a singing battle to save the camp. As a father myself, I was initially in awe of the discipline of these children. With kids ranging from 6 -16, you’d be forgiven if there were a couple of lapses in concentration, but everybody had a role and played it to the maximum. Even the kids who weren’t front and centre kept the storyline going with some excellent acting work from the background.
The beauty of Kinetic productions is that it’s all-inclusive and that absolutely shows; everybody is given stage time to shine and the more experienced of the performers actively help out the younger members. Obviously, given the nature of the show, there are some with more stage time than others, but I do believe I’ve witnessed some true future talent. Backed by a full live band, the kids sing their heart outs. The main players were Mitchie, played by Erin Morgan-Ring who kicked the entire thing off with an absolutely belting rendition of This is Me and Tess Tyler, played a bit too well by Elise Turner, who’ll you’ll find yourself genuinely despising, such is her excellent portrayal of the camp’s mean girl.
The rival camp’s leader, a slime ball in a pinstripe suit by the name of Axel was brought to life by Lewis Griffith in role that, while limited, was made utterly memorable by the young lad. The choreography will leave you mesmerized, the performances will blow your mind and the finale of We Rock, will leave you baying for more. The enthusiasm and confidence exuded on stage this evening, was absorbed by the audience and returned through raucous applause after every performance. A highly energetic production delivered by a very impressive group of children and young adults. Kinetic are raising the bar in terms of getting the best from our aspiring actors and actresses and I for one, can’t wait to see what the future holds for these youngsters.
words Chris Andrews