Mary Poppins in Mandurah

Not knowing anything about the Stray Cats Theatre Company, I walked in expecting an OK show that should be a nice way to end our Mother’s Day out; good for the kids but more on the amateur end of the spectrum. But three hours later I walked out of the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre blown away. Our tickets had cost $34.50 and just $28 for the kids, and I now felt I should be tipping them double that as I went through the exit door. It was next level good.

The whole package impressed and dot points are the only way to keep this from becoming an essay. So here we go:

• The Singing. Not once did you feel like any of the principle roles were going to miss a note. They made it look easy and it sounded fantastic. And you could understand what they were saying which is not to be taken for granted!
• The Set. A lot of work had gone into creating the different scenes. Mary Poppins has some challenging locations to bring to life and congratulations to the set designers for how they did this. There was a balcony across the back of the stage which was re-purposed depending on the location. Another clever idea was, at times, only having scenery in the middle third of the stage. This was an effective, more efficient way of creating the relatively large number of locations required. Combined with the performing and lighting it was convincing and worked.
• The Orchestra. Well, it sounded just like the recordings. The same instruments, played equally well. They never skipped a beat. There were no awkward gaps or noticeable mistakes. The band sounded as good as any fully professional show.
• The Ensemble and The Acting. Everywhere you looked there was a person in character, fully engaged. They were all good but I must say that Mrs Brill, played by Joanna Wilson Smale, quickly became a crowd favourite. Stray Cats must have some talented directors, trainers, and choreographers as everyone acted convincingly yet without overdoing it.
• The Sound Mixing. Something else not to be taken for granted. Well done and thank you. There is nothing more frustrating than the levels being wrong! Yet, the band was the right volume and mix, and the singers were clearly heard above the orchestra irrespective of if they were singing in the lower or higher register.
• The Costumes were authentic and bright. The colour, detail, and variety all very impressive. The photos online and in the program didn’t do them justice!

After the show the entire cast came out and were available for us to meet. It was special that our children could meet Mary Poppins! Kristie Corbishley who played the title role was a natural with the kids who instantly felt as comfortable meeting her as you would with Mary herself.

If I had to find one negative it would be the auditorium. It’s an impressive venue on the whole with a great foyer, a fantastic location and plenty of leg room. The only thing was the frequent opening of the entrance doors as people went to the facilities and back. With many kids in the audience this happened quite regularly and each time, it let the beaming warm sun of Western Australia into the relatively dark room. It did impact the show and must have been just as distracting for the cast as it was for the audience. The staff were friendly though and that goes a long way to make up for other issues.

So much work went into this amazing production that it seems a shame it only ran for four days. But for those three hours, thanks to the skill and hard work of many people at Stray Cats, the audience could enjoy escaping to another world. It was well worth the drive down from Perth and I look forward to their next project.