Day out to remember

OUR DAY OUT

Oldham Coliseum


THE Coliseum is going to get a reputation it might find increasingly hard to live up to if we keep getting more big-cast musicals like “Chicago” and this one to brighten the autumn season.

Especially when the result is such fun, which is certainly the case for WIlly Russell’s 30-year-old musical play, updated to a more modern feel by the playwright five or so years ago.

When I saw it last, years ago, the songs had a pop-like feel, neither the children nor the lollipop man swore and it was all amusingly predictable.

It is still amusingly predictable, but now the children open the show with rap and modern choreography, have their mobiles collected before the coach sets off and aren’t averse to wearing condoms on their heads at the motorway services.

Willy Russell based the work on his experiences as a teacher and watching the children lay waste to the castle and take animals from a zoo’s Pets Corner isn’t the evening’s major concern. The loss of generations of potentially bright children due to ill-suited, uncaring parents, the conditions in which many of them live — which leads one girl, Amy, to want to stay and live at the seaside, and even the fact that these mid-teenagers haven’t mastered reading, writing and other basic skills are all sympathetically examined at the work’s core.

But you can, if you wish, gloss over that and enjoy the performances of youngsters selected from Oldham Theatre Workshop by director Kevin Shaw to appear enthusiastically alongside the pro actors in adult roles.

Shaw and choreographer Beverley Edmunds move the cast snappily on another smart, simplistic Foxton set mixing action with actor-musicians, drilled by musical supervisor Howard Gray and MD Alex Smith.

Claire Storey is the perfect caring teacher as Mrs Kay, trying not to be exasperated by the by-the-book Briggs of Russell Richardson, while Adam Barlow and Samantha Siddall are cute as young teachers and romantic partners.

Some of the younger characters are also played by professionals and do a good job blending in with the exuberance and spirit of the large young acting company (on press night the red team, led by the sweet Emily Fitton as Amy).

“Our Day Out” isn’t great drama but it is well-written, funny, often touching and thoughtful entertainment with some good songs, cute characters and terrific energy.
Make it Your Evening Out before September 27.