Reviewed By Sophie Ross
November 6th
Reviewer rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This year the National Youth Music Theatre turned 40 and to celebrate, the Adelphi Theatre hosted a one-off gala concert in their honour. Featuring performances from both past and present members with some of their most prestigious alumni in both the audience and guest performing. The atmosphere as you entered the room was electric. With a full orchestra and a stage filled with roughly 200 performers, you can see why this company has been so successful over the years.
An evening of pure celebration, to a organisation that has helped nurture and shape these performers. Expressing their upmost gratitude and appreciation, it’s very clear to see that many of these people owe an awful lot to the NYMT. With a catalogue of musical theatre numbers, the passion oozing from the stage was sky high. Despite a few minor sound issues, (which with many mic swaps is understandable), every person on that stage had a beaming smile and you could tell that they were proud to be a part of something so incredible.
Starting the evening off with “Fanfare”, composed by Benjamin Till and accompanied by orchestra members in both boxes of the dress circle, it welcomed in the start of this gala evening. This followed by performances from shows such as “The Ballad Of Salomon Pavey”, “The Piper of Hamelin” and NYMT favourite “Pendragon”. Incorporating past productions, a medley of crowd pleasers and introducing shows from the 2017 season such as Stuart Prices “Imaginary”, there was something for everyone to enjoy. On screen messages from past members and stage appearances from the likes of Gina Beck, Tom Chambers and Jason Robert Brown to name a few added an extra stagey glamour to the evening.
It’s a pleasure to see that the NYMT have shaped together such strong, confident talent in which you can be assured that the future of West End is in very safe hands. We wish them the very best of luck over the next 40 years and can’t wait to see whats next.
To find out more about the NYMT: http://www.nymt.org.uk/
The Theatre Hub 