ACT Reviews 2022-2023 Season

These performances were well supported by a host of other characters. Alex Lythe as Hans conveyed well the supposedly love struck but scheming prince who does all he can to get his hands on a throne, ANY throne! Harrison Bramhall-Knowles was the understated but good character of Kristoff. He sang well and led the Hidden Folk in their musical number. His trusty sidekick, Sven (Daisy McConnell), accompanied him on the adventure. Whoever did the face make-up for this character did a sterling job as it really stood out and was not lost in the costume. It is not easy for adults to convey meaning through use of a puppet, but Isobel McConnell did a great job of this as the snowman, Olaf. The puppet, supplied by No Eyed Theatre, was the right size for this actor to move around the stage with. The synchronisation of the mouth when delivering dialogue was great and the song “In Summer” was super. There are many more who make up the cast that included maids, trolls, clergy, castle staff, townsfolk, guards, hidden folk and Oakens family, as well as Queen Iduna (Natalie Pierce) and King Agnarr (Daniel Eccles).

In fact, Daniel also doubled up as Oaken and totally shone as this character when drawing the raffle after the interval. There is nothing like building your part and this young man did it beautifully and was totally engaging. Who knew that drawing raffle numbers could be so entertaining? This though showed a good command of stage and occasion as Daniel read and played the audience superbly during this interlude without drawing it out and making it laboured. He also kept in character throughout the finale, having invented a pose for his character. I look forward to seeing more of this young actor in future.

When staging a musical, directors often have a template that is used for every production of that musical or they have their own vision of how to interpret and stage it in the space they have available. At Harpers Theatre, it would be true to