Tower Theatre Group

Press, 26 February 1986, Page 8

Tower Theatre Group

The Tower Theatre Group, sponsored by the Christchurch Methodist Central Mission, at the Great Hall, Arts Centre, February 25 to 27, 8 p.m. to 9.45 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. As it stands at the moment, the performance by the Tower Theatre Group is strictly a forfriends - and - relatives - of-the-cast affair. Even then, I would urge all but the closest of relatives to arrive after the intermission, unless Matthew, Mark, and Luke, warm-up exercises by the band are to your liking.-, Actually, ,1 /am only guessing there may have been a Christian hint to some of the material, particularly the rock musical, “Tower,” presente 1 last evening. Lyrics tha. could be heard and und^ t through the lne handled amplification system were in a significant

Cavernous gaps in the momentum of the presentation, an absence of programme notes, and somewhat mystifying structure to the musical did not aid comprehension. The crux of the problem was simply a lack of careful planning. A sense of firm theatrical and creative direction was missing. Still, the Tower Theatre Group is not the first arts organisation to reach opening night with an underprepared product. This first short season is only the beginning of the , group’s work; the experience gained from these performances, coupled with a further bout of more detailed rehearsing, should bring happier results. There were many moments of promise last evening to suggest this should be so. The fourwpiece, sometimes five-

piece, band produced some generally tight sounds, with Joe Tamaira shining as a singer and lead guitarist of keen ability. Tasteful effects were coaxed from the synthesiser by Terry Moody. Paul Nadas in his role as compere produced a slick line of patter in a variety of accents that were credible and well sustained. Bede Kelcher and Trisha Nepata gave energetic performances in both dance and voice.

Monique Thompson, Powhiri Love,-/ and Aahmes Quince as dancers all revealed a pleasing breadth of physical expression stemming from fluent, supple, movements. The finest moment, however, was the closing chorus. This comprised a most attractive melody, sung with sweet, semi-amplified tones bjh the full company.