Urmston Musical Theatre were in a class of their own when they presented Showtime 2000 at St Antony's High School last week. A cramped stage and a temperamental sound system failed to dampen the audience's enjoyment of a show which had class stamped all the way through it.

Some items were more successful than others but it was impossible to fault the professionalism of those taking part. The younger performers looked a little uncomfortable during the Grease medley but that was probably down to the numbers and a stage you couldn't swing a cat on. They really came into their own during an item called Junior Selection, in which they wrapped their vocal chords around everything from the Boyzone number, No Matter What to the sugary sentimentality of Tomorrow from the Musical Annie.

I know the company members take great pleasure in what they do but it still takes a lot of guts to sing solo, and it was impossible not to be impressed by the soloists. I'm not going to name names because Showtime 2000 was very much a team effort but congratulations must go to the performaers behind Perfect Year from Sunset Boulevard, Memory from Cats and You Must Have Loved Me, a shiver inducing song from Evita.

Urmston definitely saved the best until last, with the young and not so young coming together for a spot of musical time travel. They sacrificed their street cred and donned garish 70's costumes to perform a selection of Abba classics. What this production illustrated was the desperate need for a proper theatre in the North Trafford area. But will anyone have the enterprise to build one?

Rick Bowen

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