Saw the show last night-superb! Looked great from G14.

A tour de force, I do believe.

Brilliantly staged and performed, a tremendous ensemble piece; and congrats all round.

Andy, Kristen and James in particular were excellent principals, and a particular mention for Mark as Elton! And I didn't catch the name of the chap who was Hal and also St. Cyr. Great performances.

I was able to pump Paul's hand briefly afterwards, but very well done and a matter of considerable regret for me not being able to make the Minack that I couldn't rock up to have a go.

Great night out and good luck for cornwall.

Alan Merricks

The main Sweeney Todd page is here 

Taken from his blog (here)

Sweeney Todd

This was staged by the Lyric Players, an amateur dramatic society. The music and lyrics, by Stephen Sondheim, were very challenging, with precise timing required. The stage sets were brilliantly conceived, a central block doubling up as The Barber's Shop, Mrs. Lovell's pie shop, her parlour, and the dreadful cellar.

Although perhaps not exactly my cup of tea in some ways, I prefer happy endings(!), the performance was excellent. The singing, especially that of Robert Hamilton as Sweeney Todd, easily audible, and for such a dark subject there was a surprising amount of humour. Indeed one quote I heard was "It would have stood up well in the West End", so congratulations Lyric Players, and we look forward to your next production.

The main Sweeney Todd page is here  

Four stars (out of five)

This dark tale by the Lyric Players is aided by atmospheric lighting, fog and moveable scenery that bring Dikensian London to life - or in this case, death.

We have all heard about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and how his customers were made into tasty pies, but Stephen Sondheim's music and equally important lyrics give the story an even darker quality.

Director Paul Longhurst made the many scene changes run smoothly, and music director Francis Griffin should be commended for getting the principals and chorus to such a high standard for this difficult score.

Robert hamilton was a powerful brooding barber, while Mrs Lovett (Lisa Scott) firmly convinced me that the pies were special.

Sailor Anthony Hope  (Darren Flick) and golden-voiced Johanna (Joanne Corris) were the romantic interest.

I don't know wether there was something wrong with the sound equipment, but I couldn't understand a word said or sung by the Beggar Woman (Pat Tompsett). The other parts were played with distinction, but although the principals were well dressed, the male chorus did not visually represent Victorian London.

The main Blood Brothers page is here

The Miller Centre Players’ ‘in the round’ production brought an air of intimacy to Willy Russell’s tale of twins who had been separated at birth but who meet and become fatally bonded to each other. This approach, by director Morven Rae, brought the audience closer to the action than in a conventional proscenium arch presentation and we were able to put both the humour and tragedy of Eddie and Mickey’s short lives under the microscope. The large number of entry points available to the actors – via the audience as well as through the wings - were used to good effect, as were the two levels. The only fairly trivial difficulty was that, in the absence of a set, it was necessary to move a small amount of furniture around the acting area from time to time, causing occasional minor breaks in continuity.