Grease

The Summer Youth Project bring their 2016 show to the Wyvern

 

Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

Thursday 25 - Saturday 27 August 2016

Slick back your quiffs and start your engines, Swindon’s own Pink Ladies and T-Birds are preparing to put on the show of the year in 2016’s Summer Youth Project production of Grease!

 
Set in 1950's America, the musical Grease follows ten working-class teenagers from Rydell High School as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values and a side of Summer Lovin’!

 
This legendary musical is packed full of unforgettable numbers such as You’re The One That I Want, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted To You and Greased Lightnin’.

 

Tickets: £13.50 - £15.00

 

Review of Grease

by Kelly Jobanputra

What a tall order it would be to create a theatre production of Grease and bring it to the stage in just two weeks. Well that's what the Wyvern Theatre's Summer Youth Project 2016 managed to do and what a polished, entertaining show it was!

The Summer Youth Project happens every year at our local theatre and it involves around 200 young people (including on and backstage roles) and this time it was all about Rydell High.

It started its successful sold-out run on Thursday the 25th of August and finished on the following Saturday.

The musical Grease, which is set in 1950's America, is all about ten working-class teenagers at high school. The core focus is on the two characters Sandy and Danny, who enjoyed a romance during the summer before term time without realizing they were about to be at the same school.

As soon as the show started, you could tell that the cast must have worked with professionals to produce this musical as they were so focused and clearly driven.

Prime Theatre (Swindon's theatre company for young people) once again worked with the youth project and helped bring the magic to the stage.

 

The choices for the parts of Sandy and Danny were spot on as their youthful voices completely complemented each other and stood out from the crowd.

However the one singer that really sticks in my mind was Scarlet Roche who played the part of the teen angel. She sang 'Beauty School Drop Out' and it really is no surprise that she has performed in the West End as Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The fact that such a powerful voice came from such a young person was amazing.

All of the usual well known hits like 'Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee', 'Hopelessly devoted to you' and 'You're the one that I want' were included in this production but some of them were in a slightly different order to the usual format.

The sets and the effects were as spot on as the performing talents of the cast and it was lovely to see such a large range of ages on the stage.

The youngest performers were 9 (although some looked a bit younger) and as a mum, it made me quite emotional to imagine my little girl on the stage one day.

Summer youth projects at the Wyvern always make me proud of our town as they showcase the immense amount of talent we have to offer.

Long may they continue and I can't wait until next year!