Review: Anything Goes - St. Patrick’s Choral Society, Downpatrick

Society name: St. Patrick’s Choral Society, Downpatrick

Show name: Anything Goes

Adjudicator date of attendance: 16th of May 2026

My second show this season took me to The Great Hall, Downshire Estate, Downpatrick -a former psychiatric facility with a Grand Hall – which is available to the community for events such as these and what a joy to see such a facility and such a joyful production presented in the grounds. Parking was plentiful and the entrance into the foyer was very spacious with members of the cast – in costume - circulating with the front of house staff, offering patrons the option of a non-alcoholic beverage in the bar – on the stage, which was open early to suit the patrons, and also a certain Mr. Elisha Whitney who it seems had an unquenchable thirst. A nice touch was Reno popping to silently enquire with Fred the barman if he had seen a certain person, which would become clear a few minutes into the show. The seating was at two levels, about 10 rows on the floor and the rest tiered. The acoustics in the Great Hall were also excellent.

Director Matthew Campbell set the bar in a half open front curtain, with a very realistic bar sitting between the opening, and a half curtain shielding what we knew would be the Ship. This was a very traditional and faithful tribute to this wonderful musical with the Cole Porter score sweeping us along through the story about to unfold. The set was designed and by the director and choreographer and built locally, and it served the production well, with the usual pull out side panels revealing the interior staterooms, and stairways leading to an upper level which allowed for lovely pictures throughout the production.

Musical Director – Wilson Shields. The orchestra – an 8 piece with the MD playing for most of the numbers, was well balanced and underscored the singing nicely, with sound support and balance excellent throughout. Principal singing was of a high standard, supported by a well drilled chorus, although I did notice that the harmonies in public enemy were a bit shaky at times. Overall though I enjoyed the singing and in particular I noted that diction, particularly in the singing was excellent.

Choreographer Alex McFarlane also took on the role of costume mistress, which in itself is a first for me. St. Patrick were blessed with a very enthusiastic group, and they embraced the big numbers such as “Anything Goes”, “Blow Gabriel” and even “Buddy Beware” with gusto. The two big showstoppers – “Anything Goes” and “Blow Gabriel” are always the biggest chorus numbers in any production of this show and this proved to be the case. Led by the fabulous Ms. Rosborough as “Reno”, both numbers one closing act 1 and the other opening act 2 were fantastic. It was fitting therefore that for an encore the full cast gave us a reprise of the Anything Goes tap number and this was well received by the already standing audience who were begging for more.

Jordan Rosborough fully embodied the role of “Reno”. As a singer and an actress Ms. Rosborough is excellent, good accent maintained throughout, good comic timing, particularly in the “You’re the Top” and “I Get a Kick” and later excelled in the “Gypsy in Me” scene. But it was in moving and dancing where Ms. Rosborough came into her own and in fairness was in a class of her own. “Anything Goes” was danced at a blistering pace and Blow Gabriel was equally amazing with Reno held shoulder high by the sailors – in the splits, whilst still singing at full voice. Another highlight was in the “gypsy” scene where she went into full “Velma Kelly” mode and with Evelyn’s assistance performed No. 17 - the “spreadeagle”, to the bemusement of the Captain who was walking by and uproar from the very appreciative audience.

Sean Harkin was a very solid “Billy”, very confident on stage both in terms of accent and dialogue. He possessed a very rich baritone, slipping effortlessly between head and chest voice. His scenes with Reno, Hope and Moonface were well paced and assured, and he handled the various accents well. The “laugh” at the end of “Public Enemy” was well delivered and mimicked by “Reno”.

Simon Piper as “Moonface” is a trained dancer, and this evidenced itself throughout the production as he took full part in the big chorus dance numbers, but he is also a fine actor with great comic timing and excellent diction. His entrance from the basket was funny and well timed, and he was always thinking on stage, twice in the scenes with Spit and Dippy they dropped money on the stage, and he noticed it both times and pocketed the cash, perfect for both the character and for covering up the error. His duet with Reno in “friendship”, was moved well and they both created well-crafted images of the various verses in the song.

Sara Kelly gave a very solid portrayal of what Irma describes as the “drip” that is Hope Harcourt. A debutante under the thumb of her mother who is determined to marry her off to a rich man, she interacted with Billy very well, danced in “de-Lovely” with great confidence and sang with a nice, understated tone. Overall, a very good performance of what is often - as Irma suggested - a very “drippy” part.

Tim Pentland was in his element as the fuddy duddy Lord Evelyn, and both his accent and characterisation were excellent throughout. His “Gypsy in Me” was well sung, though perhaps could have been hammed up even more. The back story for “Plum Blossom” was different in this production from recent versions I’ve seen, but it worked just as well.

A mere 20 years old and already displaying the timing and talent of a seasoned performer, Jess Sloan embraced the character of Erma with some relish. Often a foil for the other characters to set up gags, this character often gets overlooked but no chance of that with this young lady. She was the perfect comedy partner for Moonface, and her routine with the sailors in “Buddy Beware” was both well danced (more tapping) and well sung. I’m guessing this young lady will have “Reno” on her CV at some stage in the future.

Brian McElroy as Elisha was first to be seen and witnessed in the pre-show bar scene. A tad underplayed for me at times, (the “testify” scene) but in fairness to Brian this is from someone who just recently played the same part so I appreciate that I was waiting for the lines to be delivered exactly as I would have, and of course this is unrealistic. He did though deliver a “coup-de-theatre” of sorts when he managed to time the opening of a champagne bottle and pop the cork exactly in time to the music.

Karen Oakes took on the persona of Evangeline Harcourt for this production and gave a good account of herself. I thought at times she could have gone bigger with her reactions, and at times dropped vocal levels which if you didn’t know the dialogue might have been hard to follow but as Hope’s pain in the neck mother, she did well. I liked the props and the timing though in the “ship is sinking” scene,

Andrew Devonshire and Tim Currie were the Captain and Purser and therefore in charge of many openings and closures of scenes, particularly in the first act. They were good and strong and lent a sense of authority to proceedings as befitting men in uniform. They play a big part in “Public Enemy”, and they did this with great confidence. Two very important characters in a play set on a ship!

A brief cameo as the “Minister” was handled with ease by Matthew Johnston. His interaction with Moonface for the “Indochina” routine was very well timed and was an important moment in the show as it is the first “test” for “Moonface”.

Spit – Jonah Kelly, Dippy – Adam Patterson. These two young men are part of a larger young cast – not surprising given that in the last 20 or so years this society have also managed to produce a junior version of many different musicals in the same year as presenting at least one other “adult” production. Some achievement for any society and it shows how well the society is set up for the future. They acquitted themselves well particularly in the “jail” scene with Billy and Moon.

Fred (Barman) – Donal Carey, Photographer - Abbie McCarthy, Reporter – Shea McGrath - again three young performers who I’m sure will be filling principal roles in the near future.

Chorus/Ensemble - A very committed company, many of whom were in the foyer before the show commenced, and who were very confident dancers and singers. Their harmonies for the most part were on point, I could hear the different lines, and their dancing – with the front-line tappers taking the lead, was well supported by this enthusiastic chorus.

Visually this was a very attractive show with good attention to costumes. Sailor suits were uniform, officers’ suits good and fitted well, and character costumes and accessories were in the main - on point. I counted 8 costume changes for Reno, I may have missed a few, but they all fitted beautifully and were appropriate for each scene.

There is no credit in the programme for hair and make-up, so I assume cast looked after themselves. Wigs were good in the main with Reno’s probably the best looking/fitted/styled.

Lighting and sound - As mentioned above the room itself is very well suited acoustically and sound throughout was well balanced, the odd knock or click from mikes getting hit on stage which is to be expected in this knockabout production. Lighting was solid but not exceptional. I was pleased to see not one but two follow spots following the principals from the start, but this particular design relied a bit too much on what were very white follow spot(s) and often missed other performers (e.g. sailors) as they were singing support. There were nice changes in “Easy to love”. Blow Gabriel was probably the most colourful scene from both a lighting and costume perspective.

Stage Management. Apart from the opening and closing of the staterooms, stage crew had little to do as cast were generally used to bring on and off large props and furniture. A very simple and well-designed set makes for a very stress-free show for the stage manager.

Adjudicators suggestions and comments.

Apart from kidnapping your leading lady and keeping her for yourselves, it would be churlish of me to suggest anything to a group capable of producing two adult and one junior musical per year. Bravo on having such a young chorus to both encourage with opportunities and draw from in the future.

Photo credit: Marty Campbell