The plague. Not usually a subject to have a song and dance about. The suspicion, sorrow and eventual solidarity of the plague is rife with material for this emotionally charged show.This new musical is based on the true story of Eyam, a small Derbyshire Village, and one of the only communities outside of London to contract bubonic plague in 1665. Rather than flee the death that was slowly closing in on them, the community made the decision to quarantine themselves, laying a ring of stones around the village boundary letting 'nobody in and nobody out'.For an amateur production, and especially for one conceived and created by amateurs themselves, this was an extremely accomplished performance. The slick choral work and well-rehearsed harmonies untied the 19-strong cast. Despite the large chorus - with ages ranging from twelve to 72 - the stage never felt overcrowded and instead it made for effective scene changes and strong crowd sections.Keeping up the show’s momentum was Pete Robinson, who narrated the story with a riveting stage presence. His compelling performance as one of the few Eyam survivors, looking back on the horrors of the past, was totally spellbinding.Disappointing was the love story of a couple parted by the village's new policy, a tale with so much potential. Unfortunately the lovers did not carry enough emotional weight with the audience to cause much concern over their parting, actually producing a bit of a snigger from the room as the wannabe-Romeo fell to his knees and cried to the heavens. This was partly due to the rather brief time spent building up the couple's love for one another before separating them. However with the production already running at an hour and a half it wouldn't have been feasible to resolve this, and perhaps would have been best cut altogether.This original production is well worth a watch if you have a penchant for musicals. Despite a rather grim central theme it cannot be denied you will leave feeling uplifted and even a little bit more knowledgeable about just what went on back in 1665.
