The Scouting movement is an established and respected institution, that hangs on the edge of our cultural understanding, even if we were never a Scout ourselves. With music, book and lyrics by Sam Cochrane and David Fallon Scouts is a pleasantly family-friendly and feel-good musical.
A pleasantly family-friendly and feel-good musical
Set during the Annual Scouts Games, Ayesha (Sydney Spencer) and Joe (Joel Nash) compete for the coveted gold badge, whilst Charlotte (Emily Kitchingham), seeks to disrupt the games. In order to save the competition and the Scouts' reputation, Ayesha and Joe must outsmart Charltote and those under her trance.
The score is grounded in musical theatre tropes, from Ayesha’s 11 o’clock number to Charlotte’s villain song, and this structure provides a great grounding for the musical to grow and expand further. Cochrane’s decision to make the scouts as the centre of the universe for these characters increases the stakes on this normally low stakes institution, is a wonderful bit of comedy that punctuates every line in this musical in its use of overexaggeration. There’s an inclusivity to the humour, in that there’s something for everyone and even if we’re not personally familiar with the scouts, we’re able to understand and enjoy the jokes that are made from the context and the introduction we are given. Damian Robertson’s lighting design uses colour associations within scenes and songs to rapidly change the atmosphere depending on what is occurring. Purple features prominently in his design, and whilst we might associate it with Ayesha, it acts almost like a stylistic background that silhouettes the actors.
The actor-musicianship shown in this show is extraordinary, not only in the range of skill that the performers show, but in small moments that showcase their ability, as when Rob Gathercole plays a piano and a trumpet at the same time. It is really wonderful to see actors playing musical instruments onstage, making them fully involved with every aspect of the song to the point where it seems like they’re playing around with the songs themselves. Despite some sound and balance issues, the actors make us feel incredibly immersed in the show in addition to the audience participation that occurs.
Scouts is just a really warm musical, a nice story that’s not necessarily about the triumph of good over evil, but about inclusion and growing. The extreme lightness of the show boils down to the comedic effort of the team behind the musical, which allows us to have fun while we watch it unfold in front of us.
