Choir - Minerva Theatre Chichester

A fascinating show that takes the audience through an intense rehearsal process undertaken by a community choir prior to its first public performance. They are performing songs that their leader, Morgan (Laura Checkley) thinks they should know, largely drawn from chart music within living memory – it’s not the sort of choir that performs classical pieces. The choir is offered the opportunity to perform on national television (presumably some people still watch that these days) and Morgan decides to say ‘yes’, although it is clear the non-audition choir is far from ready to garner the respect of a primetime viewing audience.

Hurrah, then, for a choir that palpably grows and develops as the show goes on. The problem with certain productions that feature choirs that start off shit and get better as they go along is that the audience doesn’t hear the improvement – they can sing before they can sing. Not here: there’s a certain level of skill involved in singing sufficiently off-key to make a song sound terrible and yet still recognisable to those of us sat in the theatre watching proceedings.

The mix of personalities in this choir makes for very, very engaging and gripping theatre. Perhaps The One Show for a few minutes isn’t where they ought to be shown, but in a documentary series instead (although I appreciate that ship may have sailed, thanks to Gareth Malone, who is referenced in the show’s programme). Each of the characters is multi-dimensional. A student, Freddie (Keenan Munn-Francis), who Morgan considers to be the Next Big Thing, finds his nerves still get the better of him. Paul (James Gillan) is probably the most complex character, and yet the most intriguing: it feels, partway through the first act, that he is going to be The Antagonist, though in the second act his words and actions reveal a strongly principled man behind the external veneer of supposed aloofness and self-importance that first became evident.

It's a classic case of television producers making their demands known, which Morgan is only too keen to comply with. She is one of those leaders who likes to be inclusive and accommodating, though there is such a thing as generosity to a fault. “We’ll work something out,” is her stock phrase, such is her reticence to say no to anything. Sheila (Annie Wensak) draws a lot of laughs from the audience thanks to her witticisms, some of which are inadvertent, but underneath there are underlying issues going on, and behaviours that the group try to manage and deflect. Freddie challenges her but is overruled by Morgan and the others: the lack of intervention or preventive measures results in a gradual escalation of inappropriate conduct, which starts to directly affect others in the choir.

It took a while for Morgan to understand what the TV folks are really up to – Paul, who has seen it all before, is sufficiently invested in the choir that he resists an ‘I told you so’ moment. The show demonstrates the importance of community choirs to those who regularly attend and participate: for some, it is pretty much the only place at which they can meet people whose company they enjoy, however weirdly they express mutual affection. A heartwarming show to restore one’s faith in humanity.

Four stars