"Into the Woods Jr" by LEOS Youth Group.

Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

If you've never seen this musical James Lapine, who wrote the book, took several fairy tale characters and gave them all a little story within a bigger story. It's as if there was a land where fairy tale characters live and this was a day in the life of, well three days in the lives of. This being the "junior" version of it condenses the story to just over an hour long. No mean feat due to the intricacy of the original storyline and the libretto.

That said, this afternoon it was difficult hanging on to the fact that this is a "youth group" performing a "junior" production, it was exceptionally good.

The baker and his wife want a baby but the wicked witch who lives next door had put a spell on them and she only agrees to lift the spell if they bring her four things belonging to some of the other fairy tale characters, and the baker has to go into the woods to collect these four things. It's the story of this search, but do they succeed in the quest?

The music and lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim, and being a fan of Sondheim's intricate and stylised way of writing, and especially of this musical, that in itself gave me a great starting point.

There are six narrators for this production, Owain Jones, Finn Cliff, Sophie Atkinson (who makes her LEOS Youth Group debut), Niamh Syson and Alice Whitaker. Now, I know what you're saying, that's only five! Quite true, but Quillen Parker stood in for Emily Dexter who, on the opening day broke her arm while playing football, which meant that, after all the hard work that had been put in by her, she was unable to perform at all. All the best wishes for a speedy recovery, Emily. The six narrators did a great job, and with spot on timing in their delivery as well.

The Baker is played by Ivan Hager, who I last saw as part of the ensemble in "Les Miserables" in February of this year for LEOS. I am so pleased that he was chosen to take a main leading role in this because we got to hear what a fine, and very strong voice he has, as well as leading man qualities.

His wife is played by Maddi Woodland, who was also in the "Les Mis" ensemble in February, also gets to shine with another fine voice. There are some really good couplings in this production, and putting Maddi and Ivan together vocally was just the first.

The Witch is played by Jess Chatten. This is a wonderful example of characterisation because all the way through Jess's physicality and delivery of the role was consistent. In the opening montage Jess's musical section was rapped, almost as if it had been an unused song written by Lin Manuel-Miranda, which gave this witch a very modern feel about her. I got Bette Midler witchy vibes from the film "Hocus Pocus"; not sure if this was intended but I was caught up in her spell!

The Wolf is played by Tom Lightbown. I've seen Tom in several shows for LEOS and he gets better with every show because we see a different side to his acting skills. In this role we see him play sneaky. communicating to the audience that he will get what he wants, no matter what. I also loved the song and dance section with Little Red Riding Hood. His part in "Les Miserables" was a serious one, and it's lovely to see that comedic side from him in this choreography.

Little Red Riding Hood is played by Libby Stockdale who gives a beautifully precocious rendition of Red Riding Hood, even down to her ear splitting screams when she thinks that the Baker is attacking her for her cape. Brilliant.

Granny is played by Flori Tasker, who we only see after The Baker has freed her from the stomach of The Wolf, but we can see where her granddaughter gets her precociousness from. A minor but memorable part for Flori.

Steve Kirkham plays the part of The Mysterious Man who pops up every now and again to offer certain words of wisdom to some of the characters. If the role of Fagin in "Oliver" comes around and you need someone to look and be that part, Steve is your man, because the costume and wig and the whole feel about this mystery man character is Fagin-esque and Steve does an incredible job at it. A nice touch as well to have echo on Steve's voice to add to the ethereal feel of the man.

Harrison Ramplin plays Jack, of The Beanstalk fame. Harrison played Gavroche in February's "Les Miserables" and I stated how good he was in that role. He is equally as good in this part and we also get to hear more of his vocal talents' He also seems to look taller than in his role of Gavroche, which gives him an even bigger stage presence.

Jack's Mother is played by Emily Jones, who makes her LEOS debut in this role, bringing out the frustration of the mother who is trying to make her money eke out as far as possible to put food on the table for Jack and herself.

Milky White, the cow that Jack is asked to take to town to sell, is played by Bethany Stockdale, who also doubles up her role by playing Cinderella's Mother.

Cinderella's Step Mother is played by Beth Dooley Roberts, in her first show with LEOS Youth Group.

Finlay Tomlinson is Cinderella's Father, and with just the one look from Finlay to his daughter you could read everything about who wore the trousers in his new relationship with Cinderella's Step-mother. Finlay also shared a couple of the Narrator pieces in the second act when Quillen was needed at the same time.

Florinda, one of Cinderella's Step-Sisters, is played by Eliza Garavan with Lucy Gordon playing the other one, Lucinda.

Cinderella, who relates her experience at the Prince's festival, and her escape to the Baker's Wife, is played by Roisin Parker. An important part of the story as it's her shoe that is needed as part of the Wicked Witch's challenge to the Baker. Yet another lovely vocalist as well as a lovely young actor.

Neve Johnson plays Rapunzel with all of that golden hair, who is also the daughter of the Wicked Witch. Shhh, don't tell anyone!

I have two favourite songs from the brilliantly complicated soundtrack for "Into the Woods". The first is "Children Will Listen", which is sung at the end of the show, and the other being the brilliantly funny "Agony", which is sung by the two Princes, which brings me on to two excellent young actors....

Rapunzel's Prince is played by Findlay Parker. I have been a fan of Findlay for a few years now and can honestly say I have never seen him put a foot wrong. I have seen him play serious characters like Jean Valjean, and I have seen him play wonderfully camp characters like Ryan in "High School Jr". I know that he has a feel for comedy and as this Prince, he hammers home the comedy, both vocally as well as physically. His "horse riding" gait is so funny and put a smile on my face straight away. Visually Findlay has one of those expressive faces that can make you smile before even saying anything in character, so combining the two makes this young man a definite triple threat because he has one of the most amazing set of vocals as well.

Nathan Crookdake plays Cinderella's Prince. Nathan and Findlay are another genius coupling because they are both very funny actors and they are perfectly matched where the comedy aspect is concerned with these two Princes. Nathan also has a brilliant vocal technique with just the right amount of vibrato. I don't think that I have seen Nathan in a major role like this, I know that he was second in command at the Barricades and was in the ensemble of "Oklahoma Jr", but it was time that we saw Nathan in a role that showcases his comedy and singing skills, and that is what we saw in this role.

The Steward, who accompanied Cinderella's Prince is played by Quillen Parker. This young man seems to be doing a lot of work in this production, especially when he has to follow the Prince around with a pair of coconuts to emulate the horses hooves. This may be why the Steward is played as a bit bossy, he does not stand time wasters, like Cinderella's Step sisters, and shows that trait visually. Quillen is also one of those actors who knows the quality and importance of projection, which is probably why he was an obvious choice as the fill in Narrator. Can you imagine Christmas in the Parker family when it comes to carolling? Findlay, Quillen and Roisin, not to mention their Mum, Siobhan!

Directed by Siobhan Parker who has taken a long musical and condensed it so well that it's almost like "Into the Woods - Speed Version". Brilliantly pacy with none of the goodness taken out, and we even get a double helping of "Agony". What's not to love about this production?

Choreographed by Eleanor Carty. I mentioned earlier in the review that I loved the choreography for this show, and especially the "showbiz" choreography for The Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood for "Hello Little Girl", and that love of the choreography is consistent throughout the seventy five minutes of this show.

Musical Director is Shannon O'Donnell. "Into the Woods" is not easy for an adult cast to get their tonsils around due to the sharp key changes and intricacy of the whole soundtrack, but that's Sondheim for you. Shannon has done a brilliant job in this department because every person on that stage absolutely nailed their vocals, as I said, it's sometimes hard to remember that these are not adults singing and performing. The end section where everyone was on stage singing sounded heavenly. No wonder they received a standing ovation for their talents. Assisting Shannon was Becky Kirkham.

Production Team Assistant was Claire Collishaw and the whole show was stage managed by the master of stage management - I'm quite certain that she has won an award for stage management, and if not, she should  have, is Katie Bird.

Managing the many props is Props manager Becky Kirkham.

Sound is by Dave Dallard and Jack Clark. What a team this pair are. Just a couple of missed mic cues but I tell you what, it's only because I listen out for them that I spotted them. Sound wise it was spot on and I loved the volume level which really made an impact drama wise on the whole feel of the show. I can't be doing with having to strain my old ears to hear speech or singing, but that has never been an issue with Dave and Jack in charge of sound

Lighting is by Stephen Greatorex and Kiah Smith, and the effects for this show were as magical as the story itself. There's a section where the Wicked Witch transforms back to her younger, beautiful self and I sat there with my mouth open at the green lighting effect that made it look as if she was spinning around in almost vacuum state during the change. throughout the lighting was fantastic.

As you'll imagine, with this amount of characters, the amount of costumes are massive and everyone looked superb, thanks to the Wardrobe team of Carol McTernan, Judy Watson and Janet Whyatt.

This is a very stylish show and to match the show, the soundtrack, sound and lighting, costumes etc., there was even more style with the hair styling, thanks to Carol McTernan.

There was a backdrop that greeted you when the curtains opened but, you know what, after the first few minutes I even forgot to take any notice of what was at the back due to the talents on the actual stage, so whether it changed or not, I couldn't tell you!

This is one of the most professional Youth Group productions that I have seen, which gives me great aspirations for these young performers for when they move up from the Youth Group and into other groups. They have obviously been trained in such a way to get the very best out of their performances, which will make them very useful actors for any theatre and drama group, and when they reach that certain age, they have every chance of a professional career, if they want it.

Thank you for a faultless piece of theatre on an afternoon that shone almost as bright outside the theatre as it did inside the theatre.

"Into the Woods Jr" is on until Saturday evening, 12 July.

Photographs by Martin Holtom.