The young actors are splendid and convey emotion beyond their years, with a standout being Lex Shoemark as Hemi. A rap sequence led by Shoemark would have Eminem paying attention, with confidence and talent filling the theatre.
For the Palmy season Aorere Film Academy has collaborated with Palmerston North Boys' High School, Palmerston North Girls' High School and Freyberg High School, with funding from the city council. Palmy students join South Auckland's finest in the brilliantly choreographed dance sequences - I see my friend Sophia's son Jack among them.
My eyes usually find the dancer who is just that little bit slicker than the rest, and tonight it was cast member Anaru Ratu, who also played the role of a stereotypical Shortland Street villain, skulking round in the background seemingly euthanising patients and blowing up the reception desk.
To justify my job, I must find areas to critique, and the efforts tonight make it reasonably difficult. The main area I would comment on is queuing during the acting scenes as we often waited for responses that came unnaturally slowly, like a truck arrived between a question and answer. To tighten this up and have lines running in a more conversational way would take a decent chunk off the show's length.
I also always pay big attention to small details, and some of the costuming is a bit off, in particular a scene where the antagonist Mr Walker is teaching the students how to dress appropriately for the corporate world, while he himself is wearing a floral shirt and a red velvet jacket he borrowed from a Las Vegas lounge singer. Small niggles.
Such a unique night's entertainment.
