This being my third Forth Children’s Theatre production I knew I could expect an entertaining evening at the Edinburgh Tabernacle, with an ultra-talented cast, I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for me. I had never seen the show Anything Goes before and knew nothing going in, so all was a surprise, and a surprise is what I got. Wall Street assistant Billy Crocker sneaks his way onto a ship bound for London to try and dissuade the love of his life Hope Harcourt from marrying the mega-rich Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. On board he gets help from his old friend and on board entertainer Reno Sweeney, famous gangster Moonface Martin and a handful of other colourful characters in the hopes of finally marrying the woman he loves.
Ailsa McLean does brilliantly as Reno. Her voice is incredible, her accent was flawless and her stage presence was as if she’s been doing this for years. Her character has some big numbers and she tackles them effortlessly. McLean balances the softness of Reno being everybody’s friend, while also nailing the confident, showmanship she needs onboard the USS American.
Bobby Duncan is joyful as Billy Crocker. He carries a lot of the scenes in the show, and is really the character the audiences follows throughout. Duncan is charming and warm, never coming off as naïve or annoying, which would have been an easy trap to fall into. Duncan also displays a very strong dance ability throughout, whether it’s tap or a beautiful, emotional duet dance in De-Lovely, Duncan is confident and incredibly talented in the movement department.
Chloe Law is Hope Harcourt. She portrays the conflicted nature of Hope as she wants to fulfil her duty and marry her betrothed, while also yearning for Billy. Law has the most emotional scenes and handles them brilliantly, the audience genuinely feels for her amongst this mainly very happy and fun musical, adding some needed emotional depth to the story and the character she portrays too. Her dance sequence with Duncan in De-Lovely, again, is a delight.
Corin Wake as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh is fantastic. Wake has fantastic stage presence. He gives the audience a genuinely nice, but very short-sighted Lord who does care for Hope, yet finds himself the butt of many a joke, or prank in attempts to get him away from her. Wake plays this obliviousness perfectly, while making him endearing to the audience. Even though he’s stopping our protagonist from getting what he wants, the audience still want him to be happy. Wake’s physicality and dance ability is also clear to see, with Wake showcasing fantastic physical comedy in The Gypsy In Me, a number which is surprisingly funny and a welcome break to the pacing in the second act.
Lewis Walker is brilliant as Moonface Martin. Walker captures the weirdly loveable personality of Moonface. Yes he’s a gangster, but he cares for Billy and will do anything to help him get what he wants, making him immediately likeable. Walker’s comedic timing is strong. His song ‘Be Like The Bluebird’ is genuinely hilarious and gives a sneak peak of his true soft nature. All things that Walker portrays effectively. With a slightly clearer delivery, Walker’s Moonface can be a show stealer. Mhairi Smith as Erma is delightful. She has less to do than a lot of her counterparts yet the audiences remember her after the bows. Smith’s stage presence is excellent, her comedic timing is top notch and she’s got the voice to boot. Her solo Buddy, Beware was a genuine highlight; a number that could have easily been too difficult to do had Smith not had the right energy and bravado for the scene.
Nina Barnett plays Evangeline Harcourt. Her soft and subtle performance as Hope’s mother, almost forcing her to go through with the wedding so she can be rich, is fun to watch. Clodagh Macleay is great as the Ship’s Purser. Her character commands moments throughout and Macleay does this well, balancing having a higher standard above the other sailors while being a helping hand for the passengers. Calum Caulfield does very well as the Ship’s Captain. He does steal a lot of scenes he is in, but he’s the captain, he’s meant to do that. Caulfield finds a fun way of playing the Captain, the character himself absurd as he welcomes any celebrity, even criminals, above stowaways.
Donnacha Linington is excellent as the Minister. He has a short amount of stage time but leave a big impact. His accent work is great while managing to be very funny in a small amount of time. Emma Swain, Hariot Currie-Mullan, Jenna Masson, Lucy McDowall and Eve Houldcroft are all fantastic as Reno’s Angels/the ships Sailors. Their dance ability is staggering and they all have great stage presence. Whenever Reno and the angels enter stage the show lifts up a bit. A very strong performance from all. The ensemble also do a great job. Adding to the hilarity in many occasions and providing beautiful vocals in company numbers.
Debs Anderson does a great job in the Director’s chair. The show feels cohesive and fun. The set design is great, simple yet effective. The two huge chimneys are a nice touch. The cast feel like they know what they are doing and have clearly been coached effectively. The lighting design is stunning. The use of boat lights to either set the mood in the auditorium as the audience piles in, or during dance numbers to back-light the fantastic performers, was a stroke of genius and works incredibly well. The use of colours, purples and pinks make the stage feel other worldly and dream like at times. The use of backlighting and silhouette for its De-Lovely was fantastic and helped add to the overall emotion of that beautiful scene, highlighting the shapes and physicality of the performers. The characters on stage are all fully realised and this is all down to Anderson’s direction of the piece.
Peter Leslie does a good job as Musical Director. The band sounded great. They managed to get a huge sound at times which really helps add to some of the massive numbers being undertaken. Specifically the fantastic Buddie, Beware. The only downfall is a lengthy overture and entr’acte which ultimately could have been cut down like the more recent productions of ‘Anything Goes’ have chosen. Apart from these minor gripes, this is a great-sounding production.
Taylor Doig’s choreography is stunning. The tap sequences were mesmeric and the dance sequence in, I know I’m mentioning it again, De-Lovely was breathtaking. The performers never felt unsure of anything and honestly the dancing felt professional level at times. A triumphant display of dance and movement.
Erin Munro’s vocal coaching was clearly incredibly effective. All the performers nailed all their songs and knew what they were doing, a testament to Munro’s handling of the vocals in the show. All the numbers sounded fantastic with harmonies being prominent and sounding perfect which is thoroughly impressive.
Angie Caulfield’s costumes were great, Reno especially had some cool outfits, and the general production design makes for a feast for the eyes.
This show was incredibly fun and lots of effort and love has clearly been poured into everything. I think the show I saw was hit with the dreaded second-show-slump, and therefore some of the energy levels, mainly at the start, were lacking. If there was a lack in energy, it didn’t last long, for as soon as the dancing starts and the songs kicked in, the show goes to another gear.
Overall the show is a heap of fun and you can tell the cast and crew worked incredibly hard. With some proper show-stopping dance moments, songs that’ll be stuck in your head for weeks and an incredibly talented cast, ‘Anything Goes’ is another success for Forth Children’s Theatre.
Get your tickets for ‘Anything Goes’ below:
Theatre Scotland 
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