As regular theatre/concert goers (at least twice a week) and boat owners, my wife and I were pleased to see the advertisement in New Writers UK for the new musical, ‘A cut through time,’ written by NWUK member, Suzie Litton-Wood.
We booked our tickets and travelled over to Chesterfield for the afternoon performance on Saturday July 23rd. As we had just spent a week at the beginning of the month cruising on the beautiful Chesterfield Canal we were quite excited about the prospect of the show. We were not disappointed. The performance was at the lovely Pomegranate Theatre and was an absolute triumph. ‘A cut through time’ is an illustrated musical journey back in time to the great era of canals. With a highly accomplished cast of five, which included a narrator, we were treated to a musical feast that transported us back 200 years then took us forward to the demise of the canal network in the 1960’s. The show included original songs and poetry written and performed by the cast which told the story of the greatest transport revolution of its time. Our enjoyment was substantially enhanced when the excellent singing and poetry reading was backed by original photographs showing the history of the canal network and the people who worked on it. The cast wore authentic costumes (with numerous costume changes) and delivered their songs, poems and lines in a highly professional way. The show was nostalgic, interesting, fast paced and highly informative. At times it was also very poignant and upsetting. Even this battle scarred writer had a tear in his eye when the story of Billy the horse was told.‘
A cut through time’ is a veritable delight and Suzie-Litton Wood is to be congratulated on both her writing and singing skills. I urge you to find when the next performance is and book your tickets.
David Zelder
Author
July 25th 2011
