The New Townley Theatre certainly came alive with the Sound of Music.

Townley Grammar’s production of ‘The Sound of Music’ perfectly captured the spirit of the Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical.  As the Theatre was transformed into an Abbey and the Von Trapp family Mansion, the performers certainly looked at home.  All the months of hard work and dedication paid off when the musical finally came together.

The production included members from years 7-13, with the lead role of Maria being outstandingly taken on by Hayley Ball and Louise Thomas.  Both performers brought a different element of excitement to the role.  Hayley applied all of her years of acting experience with the National Youth Theatre and captured the warmth and youth of Maria’s character, as did Louise.  Her incredible voice brought such life to classics such as The Hills are alive and I have confidence in me.  George Von Trapp was performed on all nights by Andy Hales, who simply shone with his rendition of Edelweiss.

The Von Trapp children, played by the lower school all showed talent way beyond their years and all gave a commendable performance, as did our somewhat lively nuns (the school chamber choir)!  The Nuns’ chorus provided the beautiful music from the Nonnburg Abbey.  Their incredibly pure sound created such an atmosphere throughout the Abbey scenes with the evening hymn standing out in particular and showed the talent of these young singers.  What a surprise it was for audience to find themselves surrounded by nuns in the rendition of How do you solve a problem like Maria?  A memorable moment that shall never be forgotten was the point when the nuns began to sway to this well-known tune, which certainly amused the audience.  The role of the Abbess was played by Sinead Manning and Charlotte Wilmott, who brilliantly carried off this difficult supporting role.  Both solos of Climb every mountain were sung with such composure and they both provided the solo in the stunning finale.

The Ball scene in particular, was brought alive by the fantastic ballroom dancers, who waltzed around the floor with exceptional confidence and grace.

Of course the performance would not have been complete without the amazing band conducted by Mr Suranyi!  The Band was supported in part by members from outside the school, for which the whole cast are very grateful. 

The play simply would not have run so smoothly on all four nights without the extremely professional team behind the scenes.  Jo Mayston, our sound and lighting technician, was particularly invaluable in this production as were the costume, prop, scenery and make-up teams, who all played their part in transporting the cast and the stage into war-time Austria.

The Sound of Music production was a complete sell out!  Those who were lucky enough to obtain tickets were treated to a night full of brilliant acting, fantastic singing, beautiful dancing and an all round superb production!  Thanks indeed to Mr Perry the Director, Mr Suranyi our Director of Music, the choreographers Mrs Brittle and Ms Afford, The Choral Coach Miss Jones and our Technical Manager Mr Gilchrist for a stunning first full production in the Theatre.  Hopefully the Townley Theatre will house many more productions as successful as The Sound of Music has been.

Hannah Campbell 13ST