How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

CAST

J.P FINCH | James Leggat
ROSEMARY PILKINGTON | Miranda Evans
J.B BIGGLEY | David Robson
SMITTY | Lauren Clarke
BUD FRUMP | Matt Young
MISS JONES | Tessa Kennedy
HEDY LA RUE | Lora Jones
BERT BRATT | Ben Woolley
MR TWIMBLE/WALLY WOMPER | Sam Barnes

ENSEMBLE
Josh Yard, Toby Churchley, Joe Dickens, Charlie Smith, Paul Brookland Williams

Izzi Richardson, Emma Jelly, Carrie Wilson, Polly Hayes, Lois Kate Howarth

CREATIVE TEAM

DIRECTOR | Peter Shimmin
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Michael Cannon
CHOREOGRAPHER | Samantha Miller
PRODUCER | Rebecca Chisholm
ASSISTANT MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Will Gaines
TAP CHOREOGRAPHER | Paul Brookland Williams
LIGHTING DESIGNER | Olly Levett
SOUND DESIGNER | Adam Coppard
COSTUME DESIGNER | Larissa Gauger
DRESS MAKER | Clare Harding
ARTWORK | Zoë Dobell
MARKETING | Peter Shimmin
PHOTOGRAPHY | Stephen Russel
COMMITTEE LIAISON | Steven King

Quite simply, the show is wonderful and should serve as a shining beacon throughout across the entire non-professional sector. Whether you see the same show produced at at the Union Theatre, Young Vic, Charing Cross Theatre, Jermyn Street Theatre or any other professional off-West End/Fringe venue, it will not get any better than this. Amateur groups around the capital pay attention; this is how to put on a musical! This fifty-eight-year-old show (which also played the West End in 1963) makes a fitting return to London and is probably as close to earning a ‘professional’ tag as you can get.

A magnificent cast make nonsense of their amateur status performing with charm and humour. A basic but still adequate set is the only sign of Sedos’ amdram status. Even so, I’ve never seen such rapid set changes with props moved into place so quickly you wouldn’t have noticed them. This is a production that could easily be dropped into the West End without any noticeable difference; a thoroughly professional production that ticked all the right boxes.

Sedos’ production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying is a great chance to see this musical, with bundles of comedy and a cast that excel in getting their character across I would recommend getting yourselves down to the Bridewell Theatre.

Once again, Sedos have a hit on their hands. The level of this show is something that you would expect from a London production. The fact that the cast is made up of amateurs that all have separate day jobs makes it even more impressive.