This week, SUPAS have delved into darkness for their production of The Addams Family, to bring us a story of doom, gloom and love. Directed by Ben Jowett, with Musical Director Alice Copestick, Assistant-MD Ethan Baker, Choreographer Stan Smith and Co-Production Managers Em Evans and Chris Peston, SUPAS’s The Addams Family is a hilarious adaptation, with a few minor issues along the way.
Overall, the show was entertaining and funny, with some great innuendos that joined with a brilliant vocal delivery that got some real laughs out of me. This was complimented by the generally great performances from the cast. Singing-wise, the entire cast worked together well, and the full cast songs were just as moving as they should have been. Unfortunately, there were a few moments when the singer’s voices disappeared beneath the music, as even though many of the cast were wearing mics, the audio mixing left them rather quiet without the actors projecting. This was a consistent issue throughout the show and was quite a shame. However, that isn’t to say that the band wasn’t a pleasure to hear, as they were excellently directed by Copestick, despite a few moments where some instruments seemed to come in late.
The acting was similarly very good, from the leads to the chorus members, with only a few moments slipping due to accents or a seeming disconnect between vocal and visual acting. One of my favourites from the chorus was Emily Mawson’s Opera Singer Ancestor. Mawson was constantly in character, and I kept finding my eyes drawn to her background acting and high energy.
The standout performances, however, were by far Zara Walton’s Morticia and Eve Catanach’s Alice Beineke. Walton’s Morticia was severe and loving in equal measures and was a joy to watch. Her singing was stunning; ‘Secrets’ was a dramatic and fun number, whilst ‘Death is Just Around the Corner’ was hilarious and engaging, with Walton’s acting bringing it all together. Every now and again, Walton’s voice came out in a growl that really captured Morticia’s emotions at the height of the show, and she was by far my favourite performance of the night. Catanach’s Alice was similarly engaging, and Catanach really managed to nail Alice’s nervous, polite energy in the first act and tearful anger in the second. Not to mention how she absolutely smashed one of the hardest songs in the show, ‘Waiting’.
The show was technically brilliant, with the most impressive part being the set. Including two separate levels, a revolve, and shadow-work windows, it helped to diversify scenes and immerse the audience. The costumes had clear care to accuracy for the main cast and looked great on stage, with my personal favourite being Morticia’s. The chorus’ costumes were similarly good, with only one or two looking a little cheap. However, I do wish they’d been more greyscale like the original ancestor costumes, as they often felt less like ghosts and more like actual living people going to a costume party.
However, the show was lit fantastically with effective and accurate follow-spot work by Tanay Patel and Amelia Oates. The lighting supplemented each scene, with occasional moments where the actors seemed to slip out of the light every now and again. However, there was a rather large issue with sound, as almost all sound effects were incredibly loud, overly so. Wednesday’s voice was completely drowned out during ‘Pulled’ whenever the crank sound effect was played, and the lightning sound effect left my ears ringing from the volume. Yet these things are easily fixed and were probably only an issue for the first night.
Overall, SUPAS’s The Addams Family is a wonderful evening of light-hearted shenanigans and fun that I would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for an evening of good entertainment despite a few minor technical issues!
Rating: ★★★★☆
SUPAS’s The Addams Family is playing until December 9th at the University Drama Studio. Get your tickets here
