Devizes Musical Theatre’s youth group, Footlights, put on their second full-scale musical production at the weekend, with the ever-popular Fame.

Set in New York at the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts the production follows students during their four years at the school.

It uses an ensemble cast and this Footlights production had 37 cast members, ranging in age from eight to 18.

The group put on four performances including an afternoon matinee at St Mary’s Church in Devizes, where the production team had to build the whole stage and set.

The matinee performance on the Saturday afternoon was virtually sold out, and wasn’t really spoilt by the fact that the lighting was not the best, as the large church windows let in a lot of daylight. I’m sure the atmosphere in evening shows would have been completely different.

An advantage of the church, however, was that the sound quality was very good.

The performance from the young cast was virtually flawless with no slip-ups or forgotten lines.

The singing was excellent, particularly Lottie Diddams who played Carmen Diaz, and I enjoyed listening to the familiar songs, although I resisted the temptation to sing along.

The set was basic, but had a split level, allowing the whole cast to be on stage without it seeming crowded.

I liked the use of a blackboard to show the different school years, otherwise the audience would have lost track of timing as the progression up the school is not made clear in the dialogue.

Overall I thought it was a very good amateur youth performance and I am looking forward to seeing what the group works on next.

For more information about Footlights and Devizes Musical Theatre go to www.devizesmusicaltheatre.org.uk