Grease Community Performance at the Grove Theatre, Dunstable Review
Grease
Grove Theatre, Dunstable
19 June 2014
Reviewed by Sandra McGhee
It was with great pleasure to review Grease – the community show presented by Rare Productions a Youth Theatre Group (formed in 2002), on behalf of What’s Good To Do.
Rare Productions who opened its thirteenth area, Dunstable in 2012 giving local children and students the chance to show their talent and perform locally.
I took my daughter (9), son and his girlfriend (both 14) to watch last night’s production of Grease.
Upon taking our seats in the stalls F we instantly knew we had a great view. I noticed upon taking our seats the ambience was already electric with the audience which included lots of eager parents, grandparents and friends of the performers eagerly waiting to see their children ranging from about 7 upwards to late teens, some for the very first time. It was also very obvious the main leads were not new to the stage as there was no stage fright as each performer gave a wonderful performance which included some brilliant high quality acting, dancing and singing as all were so confident! Each performer went through an audition process and selected carefully to land a role in the show.
I think most people would know the story of Grease if you’ve watched the film, the original was a high-school film set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School (based in Chicago, Illinois), US. The story is based around ten teenagers who fall in love some way or another! The main story is where Danny Zuko and Sandy Chason (who were the main characters both played superbly) fall in love when meeting at the beach in the Summer and by a twist of fate reunite at Rydell High very unexpectedly. The show very cleverly acts out the film, it was like watching the film but live on stage. Each act illustrated the story very well, nothing was missed, great costumes and sets (especially in the words of my daughter the car scene was awesome). My favourite scene was Mooning, so hilarious! The show featured all the unforgettable songs from the movie including You’re The One That I Want, Grease is The Word, Summer Nights, Sandra D, Sandy and Grease Lightning and all sung so well. I was blown away with how good the singing was in particular, it was that good you could easily have thought they were miming as not a single note out of tune and such good quality.
It was obvious all cast members, including the main characters, dancers and other supporting cast had rehearsed incredibly hard. The theatre school are very professional in achieving high class productions with a real mixture of cast.
The mains all in particular stood out, each having individual uniqueness and cleverly chosen. There were some real funny jokes thrown in, so lots of laughter and great entertainment.
I was going to list some of my favourite mains, but in all honesty they were all fantastic so would be very difficult and unfair as each main acted out their character so convincingly. A massive pat on the back to each and every one who starred in the show. Lots of clapping from the audience.
I would definitely recommend if you have the chance to watch a community performance produced by Rare Productions and personally I wouldn’t hesitate on encouraging my children to audition for any future local shows as you will not be disappointed.
Lovely to see so many young aspiring actors from the community taking part.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets priced at £14/£15 with £3 off for Children – very good value.
Rare Productions in a youth theatre group. For more information visit www.rareproductions.co.uk.
Grove Theatre, Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4GP | Box Office 01582 602080
