This new musical by Julian Woolford and Richard John the events of three children over one summer when they have to move to the country as their father is wrongfully arrested. It  features heartfelt ballads, stirring choral numbers and tuneful melodies.

Our cast of 47 (and our audiences!) really enjoyed this show which has something for everyone.

Photos

from the technical rehearsal. Click on a thumbnail to see the full picture

Photographs courtesy of Bill Penny
(except photographs 4, 10, 14, 19 and 22 from Boot Ellis)

Reactions from the audience (received by email)

“I cried in both halves and not just at “Daddy, my daddy!” Bobby was soooooooooo good. Phyllis was “such a darling.” Perks and the Old Gentleman just as they should be. Mother was emotionally mature and sang so well. All the children in Posh Talk were assured, confident and acting their socks off.”

“It was great. I loved the big end to the first half where the children stop the train. The music, shouting, waving and train noise all built up the excitement excellently. What a great success!”

“Not sure what we were impressed with more – the children, costumes, music and singing or the train coming through the tunnel. The work leading up to and behind the scenes is unseen but without it, it wouldn’t be such a professional production. Well done to all involved.”

“The acting, singing, choreography, music, costumes and scenery, were all superb. The three main children’s characters gave a performance worthy of professionals. They were so natural and didn’t put a foot wrong all evening. Completely endearing. It could have been a West End show. Even the programme was beautifully presented.”

More about the show:

• The story of The Railway Children
• The Railway Children – list of characters
• The Railway Children – scenes and songs

SMASH celebrated its 21st birthday in 2009.

SMASH HITS 21 took to the boards at Solihull Methodist Church Hall for three performances in March 2009. We were pleased to welcome back SMASHers who have moved away – not only to see the show but several to take part in it, travelling long distances to the rehearsals.

The cast of over 50 followed SMASH’s journey – through song and music – from the first ever SMASH production (Follow the Star) to 2010’s production (The Railway Children).

The show contained items which our audiences have particularly enjoyed. So yes! there was “Counting sheep” with its famous dancing shepherds from Born for Us All.

As well as other classics from Born for Us All, there were songs from Whistle Down The Wind, Goodnight Mister Tom, Children of Eden and Just So — to name but a few.

Photographs of some of the items in the show

Photographs courtesy of Bill Penny

Reactions from the audience (by email)

“Where else in modern society do young and not so young meet and have fun on such equal terms?”

“I enjoyed the show.  Nice of the “oldies” to reprise some of their roles, but the future definitely belongs to the youngsters, some of whom have tremendous potential.”

“Born for us all sent a very special tingle down my spine.  To think that that whole musical was completely self produced is AWESOME!”

“We just wanted to congratulate you on a great show, and to thank you for the wonderful experience that our daughter has been able to share in. The look on her face after the shows was one of sheer joy, and excitement. As well as having fun, and making lots of new friends the experience has been something that has developed her as a young person, working in a team with people of all ages.”

Just So

Review from Solihull Times (19th March 2008)

Knockout show much more than ‘just so’

Based on Kipling’s “Just So Stories”, this play follows the story of an inquisitive Elephant-Child who embarks on a journey to correct the injustice of the world he lives in by finding a giant crab who’s playing with the sea. There’s an array of spectacular characters, a wise magician, a rowdy rhino, a neurotic chef and what musical would be complete without a singing stove? The talent in the SMASH cast is abundant and apparent, first-rate voices, fabulous cameos and full sounding chorus numbers make for top notch entertainment.

JLG

Photos from the performance

Photographs by Bill Penny

The story of Just So

At the beginning of time, Pau Amma the Crab began playing with the ocean, causing a flood that threatened the other animals. The Elephant’s Child sets out to stop the Crab, and discovers how the Leopard got his spots, how the Rhinoceros got his skin and how curiosity and a hungry Crocodile can turn an Elephant’s small nose into a very large trunk. He also discovers that one determined individual can make a real difference in this world.

Whistle Down The Wind is a story set in the late 1950s that highlights the uncluttered thinking of children that is, for the most part, sadly lost in adulthood. It seems as if children and adults live in separate worlds with different perceptions and languages, but as in life sometimes an event – in this case a stranger in the barn – can bridge the gap.

We first performed Whistle in 1997 and received so many requests to repeat it that we did!

Six new SMASHERS joined us for this production.

Review from the Solihull Times

4th March 2007

SMASH, the music and drama society of Solihull Methodist Church have revisited a previous production this week at the Dovehouse Theatre. Based on both the book by Mary Hayley Bell and the 1961 film, the musical version of ‘Whistle Down the Wind’ was presented by SMASH in 1997.

Laura Ralph (Cathy), Kim Deane (Nan) and Matthew Austin (Charlie) were outstanding as the trio of children who find an escaped convict in their father’s barn. Mistaking him for Jesus, the secret soon gets out and the rest of the children in the village are enlisted to keep ‘Jesus’ safe. The group of children were consistently excellent, singing superbly and staying in character throughout.

The adult characters gave full weight to the dialogue and songs illustrating their brusque impatience and the fear surrounding the situation. The song at the Sunday school nativity play was one of many highlights. This was a definite SMASH hit and there will be many more to come.

F.W. Crane

Photos from the performance

The story

The time is the late 1950s in a small village in Lancashire. Hurrying to a barn with three rescued kittens, Cathy, a schoolgirl, discovers a stranger hiding there. She recognises him immediately as Jesus Christ and tells her sister, Nan.

The next day their brother Charles also learns of their discovery. They decide to tell nobody, but gradually word spreads through the children of the village. Anxious to protect Jesus from unbelieving adults, they keep his arrival a secret and besides, most of their parents are preoccupied with news of a convict on the loose in the area.

Trouble starts when the village bully, Raymond, threatens to give the game away.

Proceeds for the Emmanuel Young People’s Trust

This production was performed in the round, ‘almost from scratch’ after four rehearsals! There were 59 performers.

Rehearsal photos

Photographs by Bill Penny

Ebenezer Scrooge has swapped the love of people for the love of money. It’s Christmas Eve and he is to be visited by three spirits who show him how things might have been…

Review from the Solihull Times

Wednesday, 14 December 2005:

Scrooge proves to be a SMASH
Scrooge, Dovehouse Theatre

As I entered the Dovehouse Theatre to watch the latest performance by SMASH, Solihull Methodists Acting and Singing in Harmony, I was transported back to Victorian England. The performance of Leslie Bricusse’s musical Scrooge not only boasted a cast of talented actors and singers but also some fantastically intricate costumes and special effects of a quality that I have not before seen on an amateur stage.

Alan Faulkner played the eponymous hero brilliantly, showing a trajectory of emotions as Scrooge learnt from his past, and we learnt why his life has been so cold.

Iain Cameron was thoroughly and wonderfully convincing as the ghost of Jacob Marley, his vocal range showed the black humour of the character and he encompassed the irony and searingly scornful laughter needed.

I had not seen this musical before, and was impressed with the intricate score. Peter Farndon made full use of technology to bring a complete ensemble of instruments into the small Dovehouse Theatre and his conducting ensured a beautiful harmony with a complex arrangement.

LRB

Some comments from our audience via email

The show last night was brill. I was most impressed with the costumes – and all down to two people mainly!! It really was very well rehearsed with everyone confident and really in character. It certainly tops last year’s show. Good effects on stage too. Well done to everyone – a big success. The only downside is that it will have to be followed by something equally great!

We went to the Thursday performance. Our reaction was one of utter amazement! The sets were wonderful and so cleverly moved around by the stage hands. The choreography was professional. What can we say about the costumes? So many people to dress and every one individually designed. As for the effects, they had us spellbound. How on earth did the ghost get through that mirror? We have come to expect a high standard and SMASH did not let us down. All accompanied by superb music of course!

Yet another winner for SMASH – the show was characterised by creative adaptation and staging, colourful costumes, the high quality of scoring and sound that we have come to expect… , some delightful, heart stopping and at times tear jerking moments from the children, well crafted performances from our old stagers – all with some ‘wow’ moments – and the emergence of two shining stars in Tiny Tim (I knew the lad had talent!) and Marley’s Ghost (a skilled performance of depth and character – ‘full many a pearl..!’)

Superb as usual. Movement, vitality, message: all there.

A most glorious, galoobrious and utterly crumbobblious Musical Play for Children of All Ages based on Edward Lear’s verses and stories.

Brimming over with fun, this play follows the Owl and the Pussycat on their quest for a ring and someone to marry them. They meet a whole host of Lear’s amazing characters (including the Dong with the Luminous Nose, the Quangle Wangle and the Runcible Spoon) whilst trying to evade capture by the villainous, hissable Plum Pudding Flea.

Please note that the photos below are from rehearsals

Comments from our audience

It sounds as though our audience really enjoyed it judging by the unsolicited comments received by email!

Brill! Fantastic choreography & costumes, talented tots & big’uns, terrific ad-libs from the Cubs!

Brilliant! Super to see and hear the response from the younger members of the audience they were utterly captivated. As were the older members!!!

A delightful, fun-filled, joyous event – wonderful to see all the children & young people joining in so enthusiastically & professionally. What a bonus for the Church to see so many people of all ages & talents working together in harmony & to such good effect.

Fan dabby dozy – educational too. Now I know that honey is spelt with an H

Discombusteously placeshakingly mentalplodingly actingtastically ireffutably vavavoom, it yomped.

It was excellent, lively, intelligent, stimulating! What more could anyone want.

ABSOLUTELY SPLENDIFEROUS!! I thought the young people were so professional and enthusiastic… a high standard and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good to see so many people from the church family supporting in different ways…. props, music, costume, choreography, technical… as well as taking part on stage… and some new faces involved. Thanks to all concerned.

My boy was in the show – wearing tights and make-up and encouraged to be evil. Is this really what I bring him to church for? Several times a week!

Book and lyrics by Michelle Magorian
Music and additional lyrics by Gary Carpenter
2nd–5th April 2003 (five performances)
Midlands Premiere

Young Willie Beech is evacuated to the country as Britain stands on the brink of the Second World War.

A sad, emotionally deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley – but his new found happiness is shattered by a summons from his mother back in London…

We were very pleased to welcome the composer, Gary Carpenter, to one of the performances.

Solihull News Friday 4th April 2003

WORTH STAYING UP FOR

Goodnight Mister Tom, The Dovehouse Theatre

The intimate Dovehouse Theatre was brought to life as we were transported between wartorn London and the tranquil countryside home of Tom Oakley, who had begrudgingly taken in evacuee Willie Beech.

The SMASH cast sang and danced through the Michelle Magorian story, made famous by the late John Thaw film playing to a much-deserved sell out audience. Alan Faulkner was a heart-warming Tom, suitably tetchy at the beginning and gradually softening as he mellowed through his care for the boy.

Ryan Carter was also superb, alternating between a suppressed frightened child in London, to a carefree country boy and Sam Coleman as Zach is certainly a name to look out if he decides on a stage career.

SG

Photos from the performance

Solihull Times, Friday 11th April 2003

POIGNANT TALE OF OUTSIDERS

Goodnight Mister Tom, performed by SMASH, The Dovehouse Theatre

Arnold Wesker once said that the memoir of an outsider inevitably tells us as much about the society he’s outside as it does about himself. So it is apt that, in Michelle Magorian’s musical Goodnight Mr Tom, the audience learns about wartime Britain through the eyes of four outsiders.

Having read the powerful novel, I did not anticipate empathising with William Beech’s mother, yet Lucy McGann’s portrayal movingly contextualises Mrs Beech’s violence and verbal abuse in her own vulnerability.

Will is an outsider at school; bullied by his peers as well as his mother. He only becomes integrated into society through evacuation to the home of Tom Oakley, who lives on the margins of his close-knit village, and friendship with Zac – another evacuee who is alienated both by his Judaism and by his theatricality.

I was lucky enough to see Will played by each of the two boys chosen for this demanding role. Ryan Carter brought out the joy buried inside the troubled child and Andrew Branson’s pure singing voice provided poignancy to the character’s heartbreaking situation. Both young actors created a believable friendship with Zac, who was played with just the right combination of comic exuberance and emotional sincerity by Sam Coleman.

As Tom, Alan Faulkner shone particularly in his vivid recreation of his character’s love for his long dead wife.

These principal actors were supported by an ensemble who brought the wartime communities vibrantly to life, in wonderful costumes designed by Shirley Aldridge.

Director, Sheila Tallon, and musical director, Peter Farndon, can be justifiably proud of their cast.

LB

A musical based on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew

Solihull Methodist Church Hall
21st-23rd March 2002 (three performances)

After Children of Eden, we were particularly keen to maintain the interest of our younger members, and to capture some of the talent and ability that they demonstrated. Godspell has a relatively small cast, and so youngsters became involved in all aspects of the show, including helping with sound and lighting and with costumes and stage management. This of course ensures the SMASH of the future!

But why did we choose Godspell, and why now?

Godspell is about individuals coming and working together to form a community, just as we hope we achieved in this production.

Godspell’s message is that a person’s race, religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation or political leaning does not matter – but rather their contribution.

In Godspell a community of individuals are brought together by the inspiration and teaching of Jesus. When their leader, Jesus, is taken from the community they remain together, ready and able to carry out the lessons they have learned.

By placing Jesus in a modern setting, Godspell focuses on what he is saying rather than when and where he was saying it. His messages still have relevance in these times of conflict.

As Stephen Schwartz, Godspell’s composer comments:

…this is a new generation once again telling a timeless story – how a community is formed around a man with a simple but profound message: ‘Always treat others as you would have them treat you’ and ‘Anything you did not do for one of your brothers here, you did not do for me’. It is a story we all clearly still need to hear.

Photos from the performance

Review from Solihull Messenger April 2002

The younger members of Solihull Methodists Acting and Singing in Harmony last night proved that the group has a bright future ahead, with a ground-breaking new production of Stephen Schwarz’s Godspell.

Kirsteen Farndon, directing her first production for the group, infused the 30 year old script with an energy and topicality that was established from the opening sequence. The connection between the Biblical stories upon which the musical is based and the problems of modern life was emphasised through a montage of media clips, the design of the set, and a mobile phone conversation that provoked a few ‘tut’s’ from audience members before they realised it was part of the show!

The cast buzzed with energy and established a community dynamic which heightened the poignancy of the final scenes. Richard Bates gave Jesus an affable quality in the first half, and was powerfully moving during the growth in tension in the second act.

The cast all demonstrated a musicality that complemented the innovative underscoring of musical director Peter Farndon, and the singing was enhanced by the off-stage chorus, made up of members of SMASH of all ages.

Choreography in a variety of styles punctuated the familiar parables, and the audience responded well to the physical humour that shone through in the different scenes.

It is notoriously difficult to please a first night audience, so the cheers at the end of last night’s performance are a tribute to the efforts and achievement of this sparkling cast and crew.

This was the first time we moved our SMASH performances from our ‘home’ at Solihull Methodist Church. We decided to take advantage of the larger stage (with much easier access from the wings for a cast of over 45) and excellent raked seating for the audience at the new Dovehouse Theatre, part of Langley School in Solihull. In fact, we were one of the first amateur groups to use the new facilities.

Children of Eden is based loosely on the first nine chapters of the Bible. Ever since Eve tasted the Fruit of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, all humans have been faced with choices; choices which signify our freedom, yet choices which lead to pain. This is the theme highlighted by the Children of Eden musical, which was first staged professionally in 1991.

SMASH’s production in March 2001 was the Midlands amateur premiere of Children of Eden.

The complex vocal arrangement provided a major challenge but the skilled musical direction by Peter Farndon, and overall direction by Sheila Tallon, proved more than equal to it.

This vibrant and moving musical retold the familiar Genesis accounts of the Creation, the Fall, Cain and Abel, and Noah’s Ark. But this production was no ‘tea-towels on head’ affair.

SMASH dispensed with conventional costumes, scenery and props, instead using minimal staging and maximising the cast’s talent in conveying the images of the story through movement and gesture.

The narrative, consisting of almost continuous music, flowed seamlessly linked by recurring themes and motifs. The story is told by the chorus, the ‘generations of Adam’.

The generations of Adam

A strong group of principals emerged from – and then blended back into – the group of story-tellers as the tale progressed.

Children of Eden includes traditionally heart-warming moments. Younger cast members run onstage as animals at the Creation, joyful at the end of the flood.

However, the musical also raises moving and unusual questions on a well-known and traditional story, such as Adam’s choice of Eve over God and Noah’s difficulty in leaving friends to die when he boarded his ark.

The audience were captivated by moments such as the serpent’s slippery dance, delighted by the animals, and then close to tears at the death of Eve.

With its beautiful, memorable music, and complex and joyful moments, Children of Eden was highly successful and thank you to everyone who supported us.

Photos from the performance