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ED2013 2/5 Reviews ED2013 Musical Reviews
Keep Smiling Through (Claire Evans)
By Samantha Strachan | Published on Sunday 18 August 2013
Catering to a generation that can be nostalgic about the 1940s, ‘Keep Smiling Through’ is a musical journey through wartime Britain. The cast reveal several anecdotes about life during World War Two: black outs, the wireless, saying goodbye and waiting for your loved one to return. Unfortunately,as such a pedestrian list might suggest, the whole thing is rather dull. The undoubted highlight is an a cappella version of ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’, but even this falls short of the mark. Much of the movement is awkward and the relationships stiff and unbelievable, giving the impression of a high school production. There’s a Music Hall sensibility present, but without the puppets, slapstick and notorious innuendo. In other words, without the fun.
theSpace @ Symposium Hall, until 23 Aug (odd days only), 4.20pm.
tw rating 2/5 | [Samantha Strachan]