What's it about: A special musical episode with stunning music and lyrics by
Howard Carter! There’s a new act at the New Regency Theatre, and Jago
and Litefoot are about to face their grand finale.
Theatrical Fellow: Is it any great surprise that Jago is
absolutely enamoured with the Scorchies and their all singing, all dancing act?
The very suggestion that Jago has forgotten his friends is appalling and
Litefoot refuses to believe it is the case. With these insanely entertaining
puppets bringing in the crowds, Jago is the King of his own Empire again, the
Maharaja of the New Regency Theatre. A well cured ham? He recognises that he
has done many terrible things under the Scorchies thrall but one thing they
would never force him to do is to harm his best friend, an admission which
delights Litefoot no end.
Posh Professor: So much of this range puts the focus on Jago
with Litefoot as his able support that it is always refreshing when they
reverse those roles and allow Litefoot to take centre stage. As Litefoot points
out it is not the first time they have tangled with evil dolls but he starts to
wonder if he is seeing menace in these automatons because he is missing his
friend so much and is looking for a way to separate him from the Scorchies.
He's squared up to more impressive alien aggressors than he Scorchies and upon
learning of their scheme to enslave humanity he facetiously comments that he wishes
all these extraterrestrial invaders would form an orderly queue.
Standout Performance: Lisa Bowerman has an exceptional
singing voice, which shouldn't come as a surprise after her skilful rendition
of 'Butterflies and Cake' in the Bernice Summerfield range. Where that was
Benny singing tentatively and outrageously, Encore features Ellie singing a
couple of sweet and gentle songs that show off Bowerman's musical talent in a
whole new light. Mind you, Christopher Benjamin is no slouch in the singing department
either, delivering a handful of diverse and delightful numbers.
Sparkling Dialogue: 'They're mean and malign and they mangle
my mind with malevolent musical loads, their incessant rhyming has slowly been
climbing through my head til it explodes!'
'You're enslaving hundreds of people just so that a handful
of you can be happy?' 'Yes, I believe it's called...' '...an Empire.'
'The adventure's nearly finished and I've hardly said a
line!'
Great Ideas: Squeezing the Scorchies into the world of Jago
& Litefoot seems like a perfect fit given one half of this duo is a
theatrical impresario who books quirky acts for the theatre as effortlessly as
breathing. If there was ever a place where this brand of intergalactic puppets
belonged, it is on the stage with Mr Henry Gordon Jago stage managing. It means
that the series can experiment with a musical episode (a brand of audio
adventure that Big Finish indulges in scarcely, and it is all the more special
when they do as a result) and bring the vocal talents of its crew to light.
Whereas the original Scorchies story (still one of the most sublime pieces of
madness Big Finish has ever released) opted for a dark and sugary kids
entertainment show vibe, this is much more in line with the Victorian theatre
of it's setting with bigger, brasher, more exaggerated numbers. 'We are the
Scorchies' is a high energy number to kick start proceedings and an easy
warning to the audience - if this isn't your kind of thing abandon hope all ye
who enter here. One thing that both Scorchies stories manage to pull off with
great aplomb is that uncomfortable feeling when something that should be
playful and childish turns sinister and homicidal, these giggling puppets are
both great fun and terrifyingly psychotic. Aliens from outer space, crossing
the void of space and time to enslave all of mankind. Rhyming is how they bring
humanity under their spell, the weapon their wield, spreading their hypnotic
field. Once you sing along you'll bring along death. The Scorchies act as a Greek
chorus at certain points, commenting on the action and pointing out the
narrative tropes that Goss is wielding to make the audience gasp and shudder ('I
must say I'm disappointed by the minions, if they were a serious challenge they
would have disposed of him by now'). In a season that would really allow
Quick to come into his own, it's wonderful that the opening story should
feature such a deliriously insulting song about our favourite resident
policeman. This is the song that comes closest to treading the boards for real
and capturing the feel of those glorious old numbers that encourage full
audience participation.
Audio Landscape: Pub atmosphere, giggling Scorchies, tap
dancing puppets, applause, horse and carriage, church bells, fireworks.
Musical Cues: I found the musical number that propelled us
into the story and absolute delight, the ever reliable and impressive Howard
Carter going to town with his soundtrack of this special episode. It features
the best ever rendition of the theme tune of the series (with the piano
crescendo a particular delight).
Isn't it Odd: We learnt the backstory of the Scorchies in
their first appearance but that isn't repeated here and there is a good chance
that there is a very different crowd buying this series than there is buying
the companion chronicles. And so if you are coming to the malevolent toys anew
in Encore there is a good chance that you might be completely baffled by their
appearance and how precisely they came to be. It's a big leap to simply ask
your audience to except walking, talking, murdering playthings (The Scorchies
understood that and justified their existence accordingly) just because, which
is what Encore is handing you. Maybe the creative minds behind this story were
hoping you would seek out their other appearance to validate their existence.
Standout Scene: Ellie's song at the climax where she gets to
berate the range for not giving her a fair share of the action. Mind you, let's
be fair, it isn't called Ellie, Jago & Litefoot. A wonderful climactic number
that provides the piece with a stunning vocal finish. I also found the affirmation of the friendship
between Jago, Litefoot & Ellie at the climax one of the most heart-warming
moments the range has ever delivered. Three friends, huddling close in the cold,
watching fireworks and recognising how much they care about one another.
1 comment:
i am quite fond of the scorchies though don't have much experience with jago and lightfoot beyond their trips with 6. is it a jumping on point or should i go right back to the beginning?
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