Dream that dazzles and delights (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Dream that dazzles and delights

11:37am Tuesday 9th June 2009

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Review – Dreamboats and Petticoats, Festival Theatre, Malvern, until Saturday, June 13.

SPLENDID in every sense. Some great music of yesteryear - great voices, great guitar, sax and drums, and a vibrancy from the cast which steadily filtered through to a normally sedate audience that ended the night whooping and cheering as one.

Admittedly there’s not much of a storyline – just a simple girl loves boy tale. One of school chums’ romances, the early days of pop groups, growing up and a vital song-writing competition.

And it really is the songs that back up its claim as ‘the ultimate British rock ‘n’ roll musical’.

Virtually all of the cast, with a couple of exceptions, would not even have been the remotest of twinkles in the eyes of their parents when the rock ‘n’ roll numbers they belted out were in the hit parade but, oh boy, they did them as much justice as the original artistes.

Scott Bruton (Bobby) and Daisy Wood Davis (Laura), who is still training for the theatre, look and sound destined for rewarding careers as did many others in a hugely talented and totally energetic cast.

Sceptics might say this is just exploitation, a production cynically trading on famous songs and performers and admittedly this show is based on the D and P compilation CD. But what credit there is for producers Bill Kenwright and Laurie Mansfield, and the writers – Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran – that D and P is such a superb celebration of the spirit and change of our music scene in the early 1960s.

It’s an exceptional night out, a wonderful trip down memory lane to the swinging Sixties, and not just for those whose era that was, but also for anyone who enjoys good old foot-stomping, hand-clapping music.

Enjoyable entertainment doesn’t get much better than this.

AJW

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