Well – they’ve done it again! It’s becoming a tradition for Curtain Call Creative to hold a summer workshop for young performers to prepare, rehearse and stage a musical – all in just one week! A big ask for any company, but to bring together a group of actors, singers and dancers 18 and under of varying ages, abilities and experiences and craft a show in worthy of a Shanklin Theatre audience in just a few days is a real challenge – and one to which Curtain Call have risen admirably.

This version of The Addams Family may be edited to one hour’s duration but it is every bit as demanding as the full show in terms of production and performance, and each and everyone on the stage showed the talent and hard work that has gone into this intensive week. The ensemble of ancestors, including some youngsters I’ve not seen on a stage before, were word perfect in their songs and synchronised in the choreography. They portrayed the zombie-like ancestors with humour when needed and formed a great backup to the principal singers. Well done to all of them, especially Leigh O’Donnell and Zoe Weal who performed a beautiful ballet sequence during ‘The Moon and Me’, and Maisie Walker-Green who charmed as the Ancestor Bride.

Most of the principals have had some stage experience (most have trained with Curtain Call) and truly gave the younger ones something to aspire to. There were some interesting castings, all of which made for a quirky treat. Lurch for instance is usually portrayed as a toweringly tall presence, yet Freddie Nixon, perhaps the smallest on stage, made the role his own and was hilarious – especially when he had to look up quite a long way to Lucas and Morticia….

Henry Walker and Dulcie Walker made every moment of their time onstage as Lucas’s parents count and showed talent in acting (especially Alice’s moment in ‘Full Disclosure’), singing and dancing. Rafferty Moore, as their son Lucas, captured the nuances of his character really well, whether pleading with his parents not to embarrass him as they visited his girlfriend’s family (….little did they know…), romancing Wednesday or going ‘Crazier than You’ to win her heart.

Frankie Mackness-Foster shone in the role of Grandma, wowing the audience with her beautiful vocals, supporting several songs, as well as her character acting. Stanley Griffiths-Nash was suitably – and hilariously – sinister yet sweet as Uncle Fester, in love with the moon (…I haven’t told her yet…) and I loved Noah Walker-Green’s Pugsley. This is a role that can get lost in the mix of weird characters, but Noah perfectly encapsulated Pugsley’s fear that he was losing his sister – ‘What if she doesn’t torture me any more…?’ – and his mischievousness; his was also another great singing voice onstage.

Wednesday is a key role in this production, bearing a lot of the main storyline, and Cally Parry more than met the challenge with her soaring vocals and great characterisation. Finley Revert was brilliantly creepy, domineering and tender as Gomez, his performance worthy of any adult production.

But for me the real star of the show was another unusual casting – Rafe Hodge Thomas as Morticia. I’ve seen Rafe play a variety of different characters and in ‘Addams Family’ he really showed his versatility: quite apart from his fantastic singing, he brought Morticia to life with every hip-wiggle, curled lip and languidly waved hand.

The creative team also deserve huge plaudits for pulling the show together so quickly and successfully: the stage crew managed the fairly simple but effective set (though with several set changes) perfectly; sound and lighting augmented the atmosphere well as did the musical score. Jake Alabaster is to be commended for his choreography, perfectly suited to the size and experience of the company and professionally presented;  Miriam Walker as Musical Director can be proud of the songs performed throughout the show, and Director Katie Walker-Green can give herself a gigantic pat on the back for leading the company towards such a great production – the huge round of applause at the end showed the appreciation of the audience, well-deserved by everyone involved.

If you missed this treat, I hope Curtain Call will hold another summer workshop next year – I for one am looking forward to it already – and in the meantime you can see a few of these talented performers alongside their peers and some equally fabulous adults in Curtain Call’s ‘Joseph’ at Shanklin Theatre tonight and on Tuesday 3^rd September – tickets from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Shanklin Theatre