Raise the Roof started IYAF 2013 with a bang. From one fantastic man and his guitar, to drag queens performing Chaucer, Jeremy Sachs put together a banquet of fun that catered to every taste.
Following the opening of the show by EDDance and a commendable performance by Robyn Mae and The Impressionists with The Burlington Junior Choir, Richard Clark raised the show to new heights with his beautiful performance of a song called Stay True. Rope Walk Theatre then treated the audience to a sweet excerpt from their play Afterglow. The Constella Ballet and Orchestra finished the first act by testing the boundaries of my imagination with a mash up of storytelling, ballet, drama and music.
The second act began with a rich performance by the Roundhouse Experimental Choir, which left me begging for more. This was followed by a witty and amusing scene from a musical adaptation of George’s Marvellous Medicine by T24. A definite ‘must–see’ for the whole family. The next contribution was delivered by the National Youth Music Theatre, whose stunning rendition of Angels, from their adaptation of Whistle Down the Wind, moved me to tears. By Moonlight Theatre then provided a cherry for the top of my cake, with an extract from their modern adaptation of Chaucer’s The Pardoner’s Tale. Complete with a trio of men in drag, their mini show had me in stitches from beginning to end. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening and mouth-watering taster of the delights to come.
