What a triumph! - Kipps: The New Half a Sixpence Musical by HAODS at the Capitol - review

And that was very much the case when I went to see the HAODS production of Kipps: The New Half a Sixpence Musical. And those words were ‘What a triumph”.

You always expect quality when you see a HAODS production, but this show seemed to step it up a little.

Directed – and choreographed – by Yvonne Chadwell, with Brian D Steel as musical director, Kipps had such an energy and was packed with top notch performances.

With a revised libretto by Julian Fellowes and new songs, the musical tells the tale of the changing fortunes of Arthur Kipps (Jonny Jones), an orphan and draper’s assistant at Shalford’s Bazaar in Folkestone, Kent at the turn of the 20th century.

When Kipps unexpectedly inherits a fortune, he is suddenly propelled into high society. He falls in love with Helen Walsingham (Alicia Marson), however her money-grabbing family soon latch onto Kipps as a way to restore their family fortune.

His childhood sweetheart, Ann (Cheryl Hacker) is forced to watch on as Helen attempts to transform Kipps into perfect husband material.

When he loses his money, thanks to the fraudulent behaviour of Helen’s brother, James (Cameron Rowell), Kipps is reminded of his roots and where his heart truly lies.

As you would expect, the cast are great – Jones is utterly charming as the eponymous Kipps while Marson portrayed the conflicted Helen very well.

Andrew Donovan as the wild-haired, eccentric playwright-wannabe was full of charisma while Rowell chewed up the scenery as the obnoxious James Walsingham.

Playing the plotting Mrs Walsingham perfectly was Tess Kennedy (HAODs chair) while Kipps work colleagues and friends Buggins (Steve Cronin), Sid Pornick (George Long), Pierce (Luke Moulange) and Flo Evans (Chelsea Love) made a great team.

Roz Hall was great value as Lady Punnet, stealing each scene she was in.

(And I can’t not mention our colleague Lawrence Smith, who was making his stage debut. A really confident performance and showed great comic-timing with some of his lines).

The star of the show for me was Cheryl Hacker as Kipps’ childhood sweetheart Ann.

She was exceptional with such a watchable and endearing performance. Her duet A Little Touch of Happiness with Chelsea was brilliant – the pair had such chemistry.

But what HAODs do so well is those show-stopping group numbers and they did not let me down here.

Pick Out A Simple Tune, If the Rain’s Got to Fall, and Flash Bang Wallop were all executed perfectly with great choreography, costumes and comic timing.

And is there anything not made better by having a banjo in it?

This production has everything you would want from a musical, but somehow left you you wanting more. It was a triumph and truly showed the joy of the theatre.

Kipps is on at the Capitol Theatre until Saturday, May 18.

For showtimes and to book tickets, please visit www.thecapitolhorsham.com/whats-on/all-shows/haods-presents-kipps/21565