Lizzie Jay and Oscar Morgan in National Youth Music Theatre’s production of The Other School at St James Theatre, London
The Other School, a National Youth Music Theatre production, was staged at the St James Theatre, London.
The Other School is a psychological new musical by Dominic Marsh and Dougal Irvine, specially commissioned for the National Youth Music Theatre. Irvine wrote the brilliant musical Departure Lounge, so I was really looking forward to see what he would come up with next. I wasn’t disappointed.
With a cast of 26 talented youngsters ranging in age from 12 to 23, director Lottie Wakeham and choreographer Tim Jackson have joined forces to create an exciting and energetic new show with a simple but effective set design by Colin Falconer (it’s all done with chairs) and clever lighting by Howard Hudson.
When siblings Polly and Kester Parish from a one-parent family start at another new school, something doesn’t seem quite right. It turns out that Kester was knocked down and killed by a school bus and has entered a kind of twilight zone, while Polly who witnessed the tragedy and is suffering from shock has accidentally gone with him. Their fellow classmates sing of their gruesome ends in the amusing ‘How I Got to School’, although one of the pupils Daniel (an excellent Toby Turpin) is in denial and refuses to admit that he is dead. When the headmistress finds out that Polly shouldn’t be there, she issues her with a special pass to let Polly come and go at will. Things take a dramatic turn when the school bully Axel finds out about this magic pass and attempts a mass breakout.
There are a number of stand-out performances, especially Lizzie Jay and Oscar Morgan as Polly and Kester, who both have a great rapport and excellent singing voices. Michael Colbourne as Axel, Tim Mahendran as Kate, the dinner lady, and Robin Franklin as Polly’s next door neighbour Barny who helps her come to terms with the loss of her brother and move on, also impress.
Musical director Mark Collins on keyboards leads a fine band of six young musicians aged between 12 and 20. Irvine has written a great and varied score including company numbers such as It’s a Fine Life (When You’re Dead)’, ‘Mr Morton’s Interesting Facts About Death’ and ‘Let’s Get Living’, plus ballads like ‘It’s Okay to Be You’ and ‘Do You Remember?’
This is a great show for kids and adults, as the story handles the subject of death in an interesting and humorous way. Hopefully this will eventually be released for schools to perform. I’m so glad that I got to see this production, I think I can honestly say that I enjoyed The Other School more than Matilda the Musical.
If you can’t get to see The Other School, try and catch their epic, site-specific production of West Side Story, opening next week in the vast Victorian Warehouse in Manchester, directed by Nikolai Foster with choreography by Drew McOnie. NYMT has been going since 1976 and nurtured some great talent over the years including Matt Lucas and the company’s current patrons, Tom Chambers, Jude Law, Amy Nuttall and Sheridan Smith, long may it continue.
Peter St James
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