Edinburgh’s Gang on 52nd Street
Gang Show hits 52 not out at King’s this week
By Thom Dibdin
Edinburgh scouts and guides are taking to the stage of the King’s Theatre this week, as months of hard work towards the 52nd Edinburgh Gang Show come to fruition.
With a cast of 260, the Gang Show is one of Edinburgh’s largest annual productions. It has also become one of the staples in the amateur theatre circuit. Of course it always attracted doting parents and up-for-it cubs and brownies ready to woggle-out. The difference today is that you don’t have to be either a relation or a member of the scouting movement to appreciate a satisfying piece of variety entertainment.
Eilidh Baxter, Lori Stott, Ben Campbell, Joanna Lamb and Michael Denvir (kneeling), members of the 2011 Edinburgh Gang Show cast, on the King’s Theatre stage. Photo: Scott Parker Photography
That change is widely credited to the show’s current director, Andy Johnston, together with his musical director John Duncan. It was 2003 when they took over, picking up and dusting off Gang Show founder Ralph Reader’s traditional formula. The result retains the show’s music hall and variety roots, but isn’t scared of looking to contemporary popular culture for its inspiration.
Johnston explains: “This is very much a 21st century Gang Show. We are obviously very aware of our rich heritage and the debt we owe to the past, but we strive to make sure that both the comedy and the music in the show are as up-to-date as possible. I keep a watching eye over the news and the gossip columns during the week of the show as there are always little gags and references that will be added right up until the last minute.”
Edinburgh’s first Gang Show was staged at the King’s in 1960 but the very first Gang Show took place in London in 1932. Ralph Reader, a young producer for Broadway and the West End, was asked to stage a fund-raising concert for the Scouts and decided to do something a bit more adventurous than the usual. His revue, called The Gang’s All Here, was a hit and he was asked to repeat it the following year.
The thrill of appearing in the Gang is immense
In modern shows the original routines can stand out like sore thumbs – it’s not that the originals were no good, just that times have changed and they can seem quaint and old-fashioned to the point of derision. Particularly when it comes to the comedy. Reader’s abilities are not in doubt, however. The Gang Show signature tune – Riding Along on the Crest of a Wave – has a timeless appeal.
Reach for the stars – Members of the 2011 Edinburgh Gang Show cast in rehearsal Photo: Scott Parker Photography
This year’s show will end, as always, with Crest of a Wave, but songs by Take That, Biffy Clyro, Lady Gaga and Queen are amongst those promised over the course of the night. The nod towards musical theatre this year will include the 1980s vehicle for Olivia Newton John and Electric Light Orchestra, Xanadu – a disaster on screen but a hit musically – as well as Boublil and Schönberg’s rather more enduring 1980s hit Les Miserables.
What ever the music is on the night, the thrill of appearing in the Gang is at a different level according to veteran cast member and scout Michael Denvir. The ten year-old who is in the 114th Morningside, said: “When you get into the King’s Theatre the atmosphere is immense. When the curtain goes up you get a huge response and you think ‘Wow, what a big audience!’ It’s a fantastic feeling.”
It is a sentiment echoed by Joanna Lamb of the 183rd Edinburgh guides (St Anne’s) who is also ten but is new to the cast this year. She said, “I love Gang Show; it’s really good fun, but rehearsals are hard work. I can’t wait until the first night of the show!”
Johnston, who cut his own performing teeth as a member of the Gang, can appreciates the strength of feeling. He remembers: “I was in the cast myself in the 1980s and 90s, so I completely understand the thrill of standing on that historic stage, playing to huge houses and listening to the laughs and applause coming back at you like a wall of sound.”
He adds: “It is truly an honour to lead 260 young people into one of Edinburgh’s greatest venues, the King’s Theatre. I am immensely proud of each and every one of my cast who have worked so hard over the year to bring together a show that really does have something for everyone. The cast are so good that sometimes it is hard to remember that every performer is a member of the scout or guide movements and this is, in reality, one of their many activities.”
The Edinburgh Gang Show 2011 runs at the King’s Theatre, Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 November, 7pm.
Gang Show Website: www.edinburgh-gangshow.com
ENDS
I was also in Gang Show this year and it was a fabulous turn out. I enjoyed every minuet of it apart from having a cold, and will be returning next year!