REVIEW | Memories of The Musicals, Kilworth House Theatre
Memories of the Musicals
Kilworth House Theatre
★★★★★
The Kilworth House Theatre is a stunning open-air theatre set in a beautiful wooded glade close to the lake in the grounds of Kilworth House Hotel in South Leicestershire. The theatre opened in 2007 and is dedicated to producing large scale professional musical theatre. Kilworth House Theatre are finally welcoming back audiences for the first time in nearly 2 years.
Their planned summer season productions of Carousel and Half a Sixpence which have both been postponed until 2022, has given the theatre a great opportunity to celebrate themselves with Memories of the Musicals. This stupendous musical theatre celebration revisits numbers from the theatre's past productions as well as a snippet of what is to come, resulting in a fantastic evening of musical theatre for everyone to enjoy.
Kilworth House Theatre have provided a wealth of fantastic productions over the years, producing classics from the likes of West Side Story, Kiss Me Kate and The Sound of Music to also more recent shows out there like Sister Act and Legally Blonde. Memories of the Musicals is a true celebration of musical theatre with the unforgettable musical scores, gorgeous choreography and some fantastic hilarious moments all brought to the audience by a first-class team of performers and orchestra.
The 6 high-class performers absolutely did the musical score justice. Julia Imbach, Carole Stennett, Emma Williams, Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Matthew Goodgame and Owen McHugh know how to bring the different characters in these songs to life whilst also making them completely their own. They have their own unique way of bringing warmth and joy from watching their performances. Carole Stennett's rendition of 'Memory' is unforgettable, Oscar Conlon-Murray is utterly hilarious and has epic vocals too, whilst it is no doubt that Emma Williams commands every breath of her performance in this show with flare and great execution. It was a truly enjoyable experience to watch every performer work their way through the variety and pace at which this show contained.
Memories of the Musicals is a jam-packed show, with nearly 50 numbers in a show that lasts for 2 hours and 20 minutes. The show began with a beautiful nod to the venue itself, Me and My Girl's 'A Weekend at Hereford' became 'A Weekend at Kilworth' through to a beautiful rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' in the finale, nodding to the next big musical production that will grace the Kilworth House Theatre stage in 2022.
This production certainly needs a nod to its superb orchestra, led by George Dyer who showed passion like no other in delivering these unforgettable show tunes. The 7 musicians really does bring the music to life, a fantastic job from Ryan Webber, Rebecca Gibson Swift, Carolyn Lawford, Russell Swift, Steve Fawbert, Elaine Ambridge and Nathan Bray. The second act opening with 'The Kilworth Overture' is really quite something from this team as they float through a short snippet of each of the past productions, it was a beautiful moment to sit and experience.
The night drew to a close with a well deserved standing ovation, the cast absolutely stoked by the opportunity to be on the stage again. It was a magical moment that reminds you why theatre is so beautiful. This production will leave you wanting more! It was my first visit to the Kilworth House Theatre and it certainly won't be my last.
Memories of the Musicals is performing at the Kilworth House Theatre until 29 August. Find further information on this show and future productions here.