amdram.co.uk

Written by Dan Groggin
Performed by Nomads and directed by Gail Baker and Jamie Maguire
Reviewed by Julie Petrucci

I gather that Nunsense is a sequel to Sister Act which is a show unfamiliar to me (I haven’t seen the film either) so I came to this production with a pretty open mind. The storyline of Nunsense is that the convent of the Little Sisters of Hoboken has been decimated, losing the vast majority of its sisters to food poisoning. Five of the remaining sisters stage a concert to raise funds to bury four of their former colleagues who have been kept in the freezer until funds can be raised to pay for their burial. Written in 1985 some of the ‘plot’ needed to be and was updated, but some of the lyrics obviously had to be left as they were which did at times puzzle.

The five sisters were all excellent and enthusiastic performers who danced and sang their way through a variety of different musical numbers and dance routines. From the director’s notes one was given the impression the cast were mostly non-dancers. It didn’t show. Kate Nolan lead this first-rate team from the front with an excellent portrayal of Sister Mary Regina, the Mother Superior, whose fault it was the nuns found themselves with the need to raise funds in the first place. Dani Scharf has a beautiful voice, Her Sister Mary Amnesia was a joy. Working the audience is a difficult thing but her bubbly character had us all happily joining in her silly quiz.

Debbie Salanda was highly amusing as Sister Mary Hubert (Mistress of the Novices) and Lori Scharf as Sister Mary Robert (Mother Superior in Waiting) gave a convincing performance of someone frustrated at playing second fiddle. Then we had Danielle Rishaug as Sister Mary Leo the young novice who was a frustrated ballet dancer. The dying nun dance was a hoot. These five actresses worked their socks off with this show. The humour comes from the show’s take on nunnery–the idea that nuns are just ordinary people and aren’t always as flawless as we might expect them to be. Each nun had her “moment in the spotlight” and all five made more than the most of theirs.

As always at Nomads the support team was excellent. The on-stage band was there but not intrusive and Jessica Clifford’s choreography was pitched just right for the mixed abilities of the cast who did great justice to both that and to the musical direction of Simon Pearce. Directors Gail Baker and Jamie Maguire can be very proud of their cast who, together with their audience, clearly enjoyed themselves hugely. Nunsense was nonsense but great fun. Congratulations to all involved.