This is a very ambitious project and obviously a lot of people have put energy, love and talent into this production, created by Mal Brady (composer) and Duanne Lebo (writer).  

The lead character, Chris (Chris Melville), is grief stricken after the sudden death of his young wife, Angelique (Alisa McGonagle).  He finds it impossible to overcome his depression but through Angelique, now an angel, he goes through a series of flash-backs, overcoming emotional obstacles until he is able to deal with the present. He meets Hope (Porina McLeod) and it is through her love that he finally manages to move into the future with her at his side.

This is an allegorical tale of loss, hope and redemption. The two female characters never come to life, they are just part of Chris’s journey with no lives of their own. The narrator, John Murray, who also directed the production, tells us the story, he describes the character, Angelique, and Chris’s reactions to her; in fact he is the story teller.  I would have liked less talking about and more showing us the relationships and events. Each event in the story was narrated, then sung about, danced about and shown with filmed images. 

The filmed visuals, which were shown on two walls of the theatre space, often reiterated what we were being told.  There were no images that really added to our emotional involvement with the story. I was disappointed the filmed images hadn’t been done with more wit and style. There are a lot of sophisticated techniques available today where actors can appear to be emerging from the screen or taking part and interacting with events and characters on the screen. The one time this was used well was when Angelique was watching herself dance. There were occasions when the screens upstaged the dancers.

The audience stood for the duration of the show which was a good way of dealing with the fact that this show was performed on an ‘L’-shaped stage and with action happening behind the audience at times. Chris was, for most of the show, standing on a mezzanine level behind and above the audience so it was very easy to turn and watch. The dancers occasionally moved through the audience for no real reason and it really didn’t add to my feeling of participation. The narrator did move down to the centre of the audience to sing a very poignant song. This was moving and as one listened and moved to see him better, it felt as thought he was really sharing his thoughts with you, as though you were a group of friends. 

The musicians were very accomplished, all the cast had great singing voices and it was very enjoyable listening to them as they burst into song. This was the highlight of the show for me, the talent and abilities of the musicians and the singers. 

The dancers seemed almost extraneous but their costumes (designed by Rhonda Hewlett) were simple, evocative and very effective in helping establish place, time, mood, and character with clever use of colour and style. 

This was an interesting production and the audience, on the night I attended, certainly enjoyed themselves. This world premier of Colourful Soul continues until Saturday night at the Mauao Performing Arts Centre, 11 Totara Street, Mount Maunganui. 

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