There were moments in Deep Blue Theatre's latest production, Guys and Dolls, when a definite frisson went round the auditorium. The audience, roused out of their apathy by well-performed favourites such as 'Luck Be A Lady' and 'Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat', seemed temporarily to be watching a different show, and the applause at the end of a handful of numbers was sincere and enthusiastic. Unfortunately, however, both spectators and performers soon sank back into the indifference generated by uninspired or absent directing and the general lack of talent on display.

I wanted to enjoy Guys and Dolls, and indeed the evening is not an unmitigated failure. Musical Director Mark Schaan deserves credit for his passionate conducting, the band's few slips detracting only slightly from their strong support of the singers. The ensemble pieces are particularly tight, but there are also some nice individual voices among the cast. Barry Gibney (Sky Masterson) and Matthew Jones (Nicely-Nicely) belt out the aforementioned numbers with some style. As Adelaide, Laura Corcoran is a strong and competent singer who demonstrates a flair for cabaret by injecting humour and warmth into her numbers. Too often, however, the vocal skills of the cast are woefully undermined by their acting. Director Wayne Ives seems to have assembled a group of moderately capable singers and let them loose on a stage without giving them any idea of what to do next.

The first act drags terribly. As the romantic lead, Lucy Page (Sarah) sings reasonably prettily but is short on stage presence and charm, her voice too often lacking the power and variety needed to bring the character to life. Her static, awkward solos are not helped by the fact that she sings them on a near-bare stage. Surely a sell-out show can stretch to a better set than a few curtains and one ubiquitous blackboard? The scenes in Havana are especially toe-curling - watch out for the superfluous chorus member who wanders onstage briefly with a juvenile representation of the grave of Christopher Columbus. The second act does pick up, mainly as a result of full-cast numbers that do not require any imagination to pull off, but by the time John Blake injects any quality into the show as Big Jule, we're
beyond caring.

The problem with Guys and Dolls is that it has been done to death, and requires something special to make it worthwhile. This production, then, seems self-indulgent in the extreme. I cannot imagine it being enjoyed by anyone other than friends and family of the cast. Not one of the principals possesses the experience or, let's face it, the talent to save the show. Laura Corcoran glimmers intermittently, but squanders too many of her best lines and the comic potential of the character to provide any real delight.
I was left mourning the passing of the impressive principals on display in such previous productions as West Side Story, Falsettos and Into the Woods, and the apparent demise of Oxford University's musical theatre.

JTH, 18th February 2004