Humanity Hallows Issue 5 Out Now
Pick up your copy on campus or read online
By Thomas Rushton
Image: Sister Act UK Tour
Over a decade ago, the award winning American comedy film Sister Act was turned into a stage musical and has since returned for a second time to theatres across the UK. The show now stars Alexandra Burke as lead character Deloris Van Cartier with Strictly’s villain judge Craig Revel Horwood as director and choreographer.
Sister Act is a musical comedy which follows Deloris’ journey when she is placed in hiding at a nun’s convent for ratting her mob boyfriend out to the police after walking in on him murdering a man. Deloris, who is a lounge singer, in Reno, Nevada, suddenly finds herself as director of the choir at St Katherine’s parish, assisting her new found friends in preparation for their performance for the Pope himself by turning respectful church hymns into trendy soul songs.
Director Horwood made sure to stick to the original film plot but still included new tracks in the performance making the show new, current and refreshing to watch. Even after watching the film a handful of times, I never felt I knew what would happen next.
Anyone who is familiar with Alexandra Burke will understandably agree with me when I say she fitted the part of Deloris like a glove. Her natural sassy personality made taking the lead part of this production a breeze. Her stage presence is one not to underestimate.
The uses of backdrops mainly formed the set; very simplistic but effective. There was only little use of physical set such as tables and chairs. Set changes were always timed well, tidy and never noticeable. Deloris was the only character to experience notable costume change, beginning in her usual provocative get-ups before being forced into the correct religious clothing by the Reverend Mother, which Deloris later described as a ‘Penguin costume’.
From the second the show began, every viewer was on the edge of his or her seat. When the interval came about, the whole theatre were in conversation, praising the performance solely based on the first half. The first few scenes really set the bar high.
As a huge fan of Sister Act, I was given the tickets for the performance as a gift and would urge all readers to buy friends and family tickets for the show when it returns to Manchester in July 2017.
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