Anything Goes - Exeter Footlights Musical Theatre Society - Northcott Theatre Review

A sailing from New York to London, with a stowaway, a nightclub singer, a gangster pretending to be a minister and a romance on the rocks, it could sound like the beginning of a bad joke but no, this is Anything Goes, a musical that combines the book writing of Guy Bolton and P.G Woodhouse with the music of Cole Porter, here performed by Exeter Footlights, the musical theatre society of the University of Exeter in their on campus theatre, the Northcott.

Anything Goes tells the story of Billy Crocker (Felix H) who hides from his boss Elisha Whitney (Brendan G) and stows away aboard the SS American in desperate attempt to win the heart of the girl he loves, debutant Hope Harcourt (Maddy J). The problem is, she's engaged to another, the British Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Matthew R). But with the help of performer Reno (Arabella Y) and Moonface Martin, a youngster trying to escape the law by pretending to be a minister (James P), Billy hopes that true love will conquer all in this tale of mistaken identity and finding the one that you truly belong with.

In a cast of young stars paving the way to bright futures, I could wax lyrical about the multitude of impressive performers here as they handled the famous tunes with ease, performed lengthy dance numbers tap shoes and all and slipped into American accents (with the exception of Matthew's Evelyn) with an apparent ease.

Felix H's Billy Crocker could be seen as down on his luck and destined for trouble, but he makes him hopeful, bright eyed and bushy tailed, a cheeky smile and his own self confidence a shining light, along with impressive vocals. The partnerships between him and James' Moonface and Arabella's Reno are comical and believable, be they based on circumstance of being in the same place at the same time or trust and years of knowing on another, and you will him on to achieve in winning Hope's heart. Maddy's hope is torn between her heart and doing what she is told is right, and she doesn't want to let anyone down, even her ill-matched fiancee Evelyn.

Arabella is a stand out as the confident, all singing all dancing Reno Sweeney, commanding the stage and playing the role of the puppet master, fixing other people's problems. Her performance of the titular 'Anything Goes' could be called one of those 'I was there before they were famous' moments and alongside Felix, their rendition of 'You're the Top' is particularly smile inducing. James' Moonface, Mathilda B's Erma and Matthew R's Evelyn some of the biggest laughs of the night; the gangster wanting to both hide and prove himself a worthy villain, the women of the sailor's dreams and the English lord with his own secrets making for extremely comical viewing.

The ensemble cast jump from sailors, to travellers to Reno's Angels, constantly in action ensuring that the story moves seamlessly along, and for a student production the set was large and impressive, with the stage crew working hard to quickly move between scenes, an impressive feat in itself. Anything Goes is packed full of catchy, famous tunes including 'Blow, Gabriel, Blow', 'I Get A Kick Out Of You' and 'It's De-Lovely', all of which the cast handle with ease and I really wouldn't be surprised if I see any of these young performers on a West End stage one day.