Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Ibo Stone as Jonah in 'Bigger Splash', a musical and dramatic production at Stephanie Hall, Holy Childhood High, Half-Way Tree, last Saturday. - ANDREW SMITH/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
JUST BEFORE intermission at Stephanie Hall, Holy Childhood High, Half-Way Tree, last Saturday, there was a glow - or, rather, many glows - from the stage.
The luminous gloves of a row of black-clad persons doing sign language made a flight of near perfectly synchronised fireflies, forming a beautiful background to a female dancer whose white dress also glowed in the lighting as she moved to We Fall Down, (But We Get Up).
There was, naturally, enthusiastic applause from the substantial audience at 'Bigger Splash', although the effect was somewhat spoilt as the lights came up as the 'signers' were walking off stage.
ONE WEAKNESS
That moment was indicative of one weakness of 'Bigger Splash', the story of Jonah (played by Ibo Stone) told with a heavily musical twist as well as dance in three acts, where microphone manoeuvrings during the play distracted from the stage action. A white-clad hand appearing from the side to adjust the microphone over the head of the grandfather character who starts the flashback that sets 'Bigger Splash' in motion for his grandchildren, or somebody walking up to the front of the stage and adjusting microphones in mid-scene, is simply not done.
Even the effect of a good backdrop, with a cheery, red-mouthed whale giving the 'I'll swallow Jonah, but not digest the godly fella' was spoilt somewhat as persons could be seen walking to and from backstage through a gap to the left of the stage.
And as noble as the sentiments were, 'Bigger Splash' went overboard - not that the audience of the faithful seemed to mind - as even with the very good live music (the sound could have been much better, though) nearly three hours to tell an already familiar tale is going into Lord of the Rings territory.
BELABOURED POINT
When a point is made there is no need to belabour it, and especially in the scene in Act One where demons plot how to distract and divide Christians from 'you know who' went on and on and on when the point had been long made.
With a band to the side, off stage, and singers filing out at very regular intervals, 'Bigger Splash' was highly musical. The moment where acting and singing blended most beautifully was when Jonah was boarding the ship, fellow passengers stepping up as a male singer did I Need a Boatman. The 'boat', complete with ballast bags hanging over the side of what appeared to be corrugated metal, was filled with swaying, singing passengers as Jonah and the captain (Ryan Allen) negotiated. However, they also sang to Jonah's detriment that "there must be a jinx on board" as news of the approaching storm came.
BIT FLAT
Still, the comedy of a mischievous mate fell a bit flat, the production's strongest humorous moment coming in one of the brief narrations when the grandchild (Kathryn Edwards) asks, "Can you imagine swallowing a man whole" and her brother (Nicholas Matthews) says the fish did not "swallow a manhole. And you call me stupid".
After the intermission 'Bigger Splash' moved into reggae for the first time asking, "What you gonna do when you find ...", but unfortunately falling into stereotypes of inner-city life in portraying the wickedness of Nineveh. He preaches, Someone is Calling My Name is done and lo and behold all is well, the impressive size of the cast shown in the final song.
