Shakers Performance by Year 9 students
This week, four y9 students took the stage to perform the play Shakers. Below is the review from Jack who writes weekly reports and has a sub stack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan.
Shakers
By Jack
Shakers is an all-female play, set in a trendy bar, created by local husband and wife team John Godber and Jane Thornton, which, through comedy, tackles issues of sexism, female expectations, prejudice and job satisfaction. The four main characters are Adele, Mel, Carol and Nicky and they play many roles throughout. Also, it gives us an amusing glimpse of what it is really like behind the pina coladas and cocktails. I had the pleasure of watching this amazing show and I have to say that it was a treat.
The four characters are played superbly by four year 9 students: Yvie; Melody; Annabelle and Ana Maria, who grafted hard for six months to create this brilliant production. They performed for one hour, with only a short interval, flawlessly and they kept the audience laughing throughout. The show opened with the four actresses introducing themselves – hilariously – as waitresses.
Throughout, the acting was superb and they played male roles convincingly. The accents were authentic, which is another excellent aspect. It is a rare skill to put on a voice and maintain that for a whole scene. When they were switching roles, they used diegetic music and dancing to make it really effective and stand out. The transformations were very quick and seamless.
The storyline was very realistic, from the local lads in bars tittering at the thought of a ‘long slow comfortable screw’; the waitresses bickering with each other and the deep conversations about which man they fancy and the stereotypical drunk customers. They even mention my name in a few of the conversations as a cameo, which was very surprising, and, I have to say that they nailed it. They stayed in character, the dance routines were in sync, the singing was great and most of all, the acting was on point.
From the start to finish, the audience was in stitches and it was well put together and performed. I highly recommend that everyone should come and watch this entertaining show. The four girls have worked hard on this and they deserve lots of encouragement and a full audience for the rest of the run. Don’t miss it.
