BEYOND THE BARRICADE

Weymouth Pavilion

THE title refers to the amazing and long-running musical masterpiece Les Miserables but this rather short tribute production delivered a whole lot more than extracts from that single show.

Four singers, who have all played leading roles in Les Mis over the years, bring to the stage hit songs from a number of musical productions ranging from The Lion King to West Side Story and from Jesus Christ Superstar to Blood Brothers, each backed up by a small but effective trio of musicians who together create memories of the past for the appreciative audience.

This professional touring company of players have been going the rounds for more than 18 years so they must be doing something right which can be attributed to the quality of their music, choice of songs and occasional lighthearted banter that all contribute to an atmosphere of warmth and sincerity in the show.

Nowadays when everyone wants to join in the chorus while watching a musical, the group even managed to deliver a song from Spamalot so that the audience could sing along to The Bright Side of Life, and why not?

And if one or two of the voices were occasionally off the boil, the music itself was enough to compensate for a few small flaws in a production that was generally enjoyable and friendly.

MARION COX