I went along to watch the Theatretrain Companies from Milton Keynes and Northampton come together to perform at Gulliver’s Land near Milton Keynes. As you may know, Gulliver’s is a sort of affordable Disney theme park. We have a long history of performing at Disneyland Paris, but this was the first time we have performed in a similar park in the UK. They first performed near the entrance at opening time and later at 1 pm. In between those times and after they enjoyed the park and all its rides. What a fun day out.
The performance was slick and was sung and moved throughout. We had some fine solos, for instance Proud Mary started as a solo and then went up-tempo as the whole group joined in. There were impressive changes of gear as they went from one medley to another. There was a 1970s medley with We Are Family and, naturally, ABBA. A particular highlight for me was the beautiful singing of Seasons of Love from Rent – the Musical. Something I also admired was the way one group made way for another so that they were constantly switching in the space. You could see they had been well trained, as the way they did this was seamless.
The parents seemed to love it, and there were many phones held high; in fact, I had to climb a precarious ledge to see anything. In situations like this, there is always the unknown, and in this case, it was the microphone playing up, and at one point, the sound stopped completely, but the performers rose above it, carried on – and of course, they got a good cheer for that.
I think you can learn a lot from performing in the open air. The audience is sitting on the ground or standing, so they have a different connection than they would in a theatre. If you don’t capture the audience’s attention, they are capable of walking away – well, not perhaps if they are parents. But you have to work harder in the open air – the sounds and movements get lost unless you project them strongly. It’s good training.
TT Ted was in attendance, as you can see from the photo. He was leading and joining in, and I thought Sian, who was inside, must have been sweltering on such a day. There were many more than the photo shows, and they put their heart and soul into it.
As we walked around the park after there were Theatretrain students everywhere, and I thought – how wonderful they are making friends in a different way. In the future, the day will become a do-you-remember-the-time-when memory? And that will deepen their connection even more. Happy Days!
