Educating Yorkshire – T’Musical was performed by British Youth Music Theatre at the Square Chapel Arts Centre, Halifax.
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
As introduced to us by one ‘Summer Meadows’: “This is a musical, from a book, which is based on a documentary, which is based on real life!”
One of eight summer productions being presented by British Youth Music Theatre this year, Educating Yorkshire – T’Musical is a production based on the iconic Channel 4 TV series of 2013; brought to life by composer Adam Howell and writer Paul Hurt who have previously collaborated together on the musical adaptation of Angela’s Ashes.
Set in a typical Yorkshire secondary school, the musical follows staff and Y11 students from the first day back after the Christmas break, through to the GCSE exam season, giving both witty and gritty insight into the lives of a typical bunch of teenagers, both good and the bad, as they get ready to move into the next phase of their lives, as well as a glimpse into the teachers and staff caring for them.
From the forceful personalities of brash lasses Gabby and Summer, to Jasmine, who is not only navigating her way through adolescence but also fighting to overcome a speech impediment, to ladies’ man Jake, who finds his impulse control gets him into trouble, as well as new teacher Miss Johnston, ‘#bestteachereva’ Mr Bolton, and Mrs Morton – who has finally found her calling, among others, including a headmistress doing her best to turn the school around, there are a lot of people to follow!
With skilful direction from Ellie Jones, everyone gets their moments in the spotlight (quite literally at times, thanks to the clever addition of the unseen interviewer – preserving the documentary stylings of the original TV show) but in spite of the large ensemble of main characters without traditional lead roles, it never feels like you’re unable to keep up with a particular character’s story.
Musically, there are a number of well thought out songs brought to life by a skilled four-piece band under the musical direction of Josh Kemp (also co-lyricist), with the raunchy, sultry ‘Trolley Dollys’ as Gabby shares her dreams of being a flight attendant, ‘Jasmine’s Soliloquy’ (the scoring really excellently emphasising Jasmine’s frustration over her speech impediment) and the poignant ‘Find Your Voice’ all deserving a mention here.
Unfortunately, no cast list of roles means I am unable to credit individuals, but, that being said, it would be difficult as there were so many great performances from the whole cast, whether it was the truly empathetic performance of Jasmine, clearly frustrated by her difficulties, to Mrs Morton’s poignant look back at her own teenage years and choices, to Mr Moore’s comedic dating life – the whole show is packed full of small gems in both the writing and musical numbers which are expertly teased out and communicated by the whole cast.
Technically, a simplistic but very effective use of whiteboards to block the stage and create distinct zones through the scenes is well executed, with Verity Johnson’s set design in particular lending itself to creating a sense of isolation throughout the eponymous musical number, and Ash Mukherjee’s choreography needs a mention here as especially in ‘Trolley Dollys’ the use of props and set pieces makes the number a standout moment.
All in all, this is a show that is full of heart, warmth, humanity, a smattering of Yorkshire pride and some brilliant talent, both on and off the stage.
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