“Aida” by Erewash Musical Society
Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton.

Written by Elton John and Time Rice, this is not the opera, as you’ve already guessed!

I applaud the fact that Erewash have gone for a musical that is not performed often, well I’ve never seen it advertised or performed around the area before, and that it is a modern piece of theatre. Local theatre sometimes play it safe, because they have to in order to get bums on seats which pays for the theatre group to survive, so it’s nice to see a production that is new to the local stage, not only to me but I’m sure to a lot of local theatre fans.

In the Egyptian Wing of a major museum, we find a group of contemporary museum-goers admiring artefacts of a time long ago. The crowd is gathered around the most mysterious of the objects; an ancient burial chamber.

Soon, two of visitors, a handsome man and woman, begin to move toward the burial chamber as if they know of its secrets or as if they have seen it somewhere before. The man is Radames; the woman Aida. Their eyes meet as the powerful voice of Amneris explains that “Every Story is a Love Story” leaving the stage empty, with the exception of the two lovers, allowing their ancient Egyptian love triangle to unfold.

Directed by Mark Perry, this really was a labour of love which showed in the way that he has managed to make every actor bring out the passion of their character.

James Bowden was the MD for this production and not only did I love the sound his band created, I also loved the intricate harmonies delivered by the cast. I’ve had the original soundtrack for years and hearing the songs I had only heard on CD come to life on stage refreshed my appeal for the songs.

The songs are written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and you can hear echoes of both artists in separate songs, with several harmonies reminiscent of "Jesus Christ Superstar", and that is in no way a negative for me.

Carol Lawson choreographed the musical, which showed off the various genres of music and showcased not only Carol's skills but also of those the wonderful ensemble, who had clearly paid very close attention to Carol's instructions.

Tracey Renshaw (Aida) is an actor I can't recall seeing before, I may be wrong, but I would not have forgotten that amazing voice. So controlled and sweet and sung with such passion.

Zak Charlesworth (Radames) – Richard Dawson also played the role on alternate performances – but it was Zak that I saw this Saturday evening performance. I've known Zak for many years now and know what he is capable of, but of late he has managed to impress me every time I've seen him. he did it again here as he performed, like Tracey, with such passion and nice to see his range of emotions within his role. His voice is faultless.

Kathi Ludlow (Amneris) has such a sweet, delicate voice which portrays every emotion the Princess feels. She makes you really feel for her character's betrayal.

Tom Phipps (Mereb) is another actor who I can't remember seeing before but here is a man who has a great deal of talent acting wise as well as singing. he has one of those voices that is really easy to listen to and full of emotion. A great voice for musical theatre.

Martin Briggs (Zoser) is so good at this baddie role and has a really good rock vocal style.

Sue Hagan (Nehebka), Martin Lewis (Pharoah) and Nick Buckthorpe (King Amonasro) also deserve merit for their passionate performances as well as all three delivering emotive speeches.

The ensemble was made up of Natalie Austen, Barbara Bostock, Gill Cooke, Jonny Cox, Anna Fitzpatrick, Clare Kay, Andrea Kemish, Maria Lawrence, Karen Robbins, Ellie Simmonds, Laurie Trott, Louisa Ward and Anna Hope.

There is an increased use of projected scenery and while sometimes this doesn’t quite work, here I think it fitted in really well with moving the action on and from location to location. Strangely enough I didn't pay too much attention to the projections as I was so taken with the actors.

The wardrobe team created a bright and colourful set of costumes which was in keeping with the set eras.

Lighting and Sound design by Dave Dallard, Harvey Tavener, Dave Martinand Matthew Cook. An excellent job throughout by this team; which is something I have come to expect and is always delivered.

Having never seen this musical performed before I can say that I was very impressed with the story and the way that this talented cast presented and performed the piece with some wonderful harmony work, especially in the intricate "A Step Too Far".

OK, now here comes my only niggle. having dancers behind Radames and Aida's big duet "Written In The Stars". This is a big number, packed with emotion and I felt that the three dancers didn't need to be there because the concentration should have been focused totally on the two doomed sweethearts.

That said I absolutely loved this show. It was a theatrical risk that proved to be a good one, and I for one was so pleased to see The Duchess practically packed on the final night.