Picture: Benkin Photography
Scouts! The Musical continues at The Other Palace Studio, London until 9 July 2023.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Well wiggle my woggle – a musical about scouting, whatever next? But why not, as the movement is a charity which apparently teaches skills for life to 57 million scouts and guides worldwide. To some, the whole notion is archaic in this social media motivated world, but to many there’s still something very laudable about its aims, ambitions and moral motivation. Created by Gigglemug Theatre in partnership with The Scout Association, this new actor-musician led comedy musical is aimed at entertaining the whole family and for much of its 90-minutes does exactly that.
There are certainly laughs aplenty and enough physical comedy to keep the few youngsters present, perched on the Studio’s balcony, chuckling along. It’s a tale of self-discovery, discovering self-worth and inevitably good triumphing over anything nasty – like cheating.
Written and directed by Gigglemug’s Sam Cochrane and with a score by former Scout David Fallon and musical direction by Rob Gathercole, it does, naturally, play to the gallery a little with some in the audience having come fully prepared in scout/guide regalia. The premise is the annual Scout Games with competitors from around the world gathered to compete and heats testing entrants’ skills in self-defence, mathematics and, of course, tying complex knots with ludicrous names. The prize for the winner? The much coveted, Scout sacred Golden Badge.
Even though at times the dialogue and flow is pretty clunky, a spirited, young cast – all both actors and musicians – win through on sheer enthusiasm. There’s a few very different standout moments, one when Ayesha (Sydney Spencer) sings ‘Braver’ (a really poignant song delivered superbly) and when Gathercole as Linus Lionheart, a totally nutty naturalist, sings ‘Mother Nature’ – a wonderful musical homage to everything creepy, crawly and furry in the world – David Attenborough eat your heart out. As Rosie, Katie Pritchard is from start to finish, full of beans (no doubt cooked on an open fire in the woods) and as wrong’un Charlotte who sees the error of her ways, Emily Kitchingham, is constantly impressive both as performer and guitarist.
Given its knockabout basic physicality and visual humour, the show is, occasionally, more panto with pathos than bona fide musical, and you do sense that, venue-wise, this production is punching above its creative weight, even in the confines of The Other Palace’s Studio. But, put this fun production into community arts centres and into large schools though and Scouts! The Musical would be, to coin a phrase, pitched just right.
Derek Smith
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