Last night, my husband Nathan and I, went to along to Spotlight Theatres fabulous Production of Puffs! Now before I begin, I will say that I am not a reviewer, I am a fan girl. So, this is my take of the show from a true fan of a certain magical school and the whole wizarding world. SO to say I was excited to see this show when it was announced was an understatement.
First a shout out to the front of house volunteers that have make checking in and getting seated in the theatre so easy. The theatre has been decorated with the house spirit and before the show begins there are some school announcements that played over the speakers. It felt like a beautiful immersive atmosphere, that gets you in a magical mood to laugh. It must be said this show had been through the ringer, first being cancelled just before they were due to open last year and being moved to This year assuming the COVID situation would be slightly better, it isn’t but I am glad the show can still finally go on!
Even with the delays. I was constantly worried this show wasn’t going ahead, as I wasn’t seeing the usual amount of advertising on the Spotlight Facebook Page? Cast photos and publicity were a bit light for this show, which for this theatre company is highly unusual and made me sad as I love getting hyped up by the advertising before a show.
Selling a show in the current Global situation cannot be easy but I am sure it was made harder by the lack of advertising; it is just lucky that anything HP related generally sells faster than chocolate frogs. The bonus of this show is that it appeals to a wider demographic as seen by the crowd I saw last night.
I love seeing new people discovering theatre!
The story of the Puffs, is set at a certain magical School and follows the increasingly eventful years of three students (No Not those students) Following the house that many fans of the books following a boy with a certain shaped scar think of as the reject house. As a Puff myself I disagree, but I digress. Taking you through from years 1-7 it gives you an outsiders look at how a certain glasses wearing boy story affected this house and its occupants. The show is beautifully carried off by 11 actors, who bring a whole world to life, many doubling as wizarding school teachers, students, death buddies and even he who we must not name mainly due to copyright reasons ;). This bunch of talented actors made this a truly professional production. While I definitely had my favourite character impressions, these actors worked together to create a true collaborative experience, portraying their characters with a high level of skill and professionalism that brought this story to life and made this show a true joy to watch. The set and the lighting and sound were phenomenal for this show and added to the magical atmosphere, particularly loved how they used the theatre, cast and patrons’ interactions and even when Mr Voldy was in the upstairs back corner of the lighting area with a loudspeaker. Sadly, this show is nearly over, otherwise I would totally go back and watch it all over again it was that good! Let’s face it we can all use a big laugh at the moment and from start to finish this show delivered, so much so I am not totally sure I wasn’t drinking giggle water the entire time! Well done again to the cast and creative team. It’s time for this Puff to go and visit the kitchen!
The two last shows are tonight at 730pm and tomorrow's matinee at 2pm.
Tickets can be purchased by clicking here if you want to hear more from the cast visit the podcast here
Article written by Peta Schulz
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