REVIEW: Carrie - The Musical at South Hill Park

I have been lucky enough to have been ask to review most of Three Dot Theatre’s productions since their inception two years ago, and I have always been impressed with the talent and ingenuity they bring to the intimate surrounds of The Studio Theatre at South Hill Park, but this most recent performance of ‘Carrie -The Musical’ was something else… It was incredible.

With an exceptional cast and crew of under 25 year olds, this musical adaptation of the Stephen King novel and subsequent 1976 Brian De Palma horror film, was truly amazing.

Director Keir Buist subtly played down the horror aspect and made this into a disturbing look at bullying, intimidation, indoctrination and the traumatic life of an outsider, all to a brilliantly performed soundtrack and creative choreographed use of limited props and stage space.

The ‘outsider’ in this case being Carrie White, played faultlessly by Amy Wilding, whose transformation from the timid to the possessed was an excellent piece of visual and character development, enhance by a wonderful singing voice.

Likewise Grace Warriner, as her god-fearing mother, gave a West End musical worthy performance. Unfortunately I don’t think I have enough superlatives to individually congratulate the rest of the cast and team, but the talent they all possess, unlike Carrie’s supernatural powers, will certainly take them all onto greater things.

Three Dot Theatre has once again raised the bar for local theatre productions, and it’s going to be a devil of a job to out do them.