COMPLETE with gangsters, splurge-guns and soda siphons, the Hayward Theatre was the liveliest joint in town this week as students from King’s Ely Junior took to the stage for their latest production – Bugsy Malone: The Musical.
A total of 64 young actors and 23 pupils-turned-stage technicians, make-up artists and cream pie fillers took part in the musical, which follows the rivalries and mishaps of two gangsters in a fictional New York-style city during the Prohibition era, where everybody who was anybody would make their way to Fat Sam’s Grand Slam to slurp banana boozles and dance the night away.
The Year 7 and 8 students received rousing ovations for their performances, which they have been perfecting since November last year, when Head of Drama, Mrs Van Wright-Jordan, first gave them their scripts.
Director of Music, Mr Porter-Thaw, led a team of musicians made up of King’s Ely staff and visiting music teachers who kept audiences’ toes tapping from overture to finale.
Freddy Flack played the main character of Bugsy Malone, a boxing promoter who helps one of the gangs in the hope of making some money to make his dreams come true. Zoe Whelan played the role of Blousey Brown, Bugsy’s love interest; Rico Fargnoli played Fat Sam, the leader of one of the gangs; and Gloria Kasket and Olivia Rosenberg played Tallulah, the lead singer at Fat Sam’s night club.
Head of King’s Ely Junior, Richard Whymark, said: “All of the performances were wonderful events and super platforms for our students to display their emerging talents on. They offered parents and staff a chance to see the young people performing with ever-increasing confidence on a very large stage.
“Front of house, makeup, props, lighting, sound and scenery making have also seen many other members of the school’s community contributing their time and energy to the success of the production. Thank you to all who worked so hard to ensure the success of Bugsy Malone but, most of all, congratulations to the cast for their shared success and courage on stage.”