For what started off as a one-off collaboration for a charity performance the ‘Beyond The Barricade’ phenomena has really grown in as much that twelve years later the show devised by David Fawcett and Andy Reiss is still packing them in countrywide as was evident on the latest stop in Dunfermline’s biggest venue The Alhambra.

And why shouldn’t they? It is a well tried and tested package. Simply yet effectively staged and playing to a live band, no click-tracks in sight, four top quality  one time ‘Les Mis’ singers perform for over two hours some of the best songs that are on offer in the musical theatre genre.

I have seen various line-ups over the years, Fawcett and Reiss have been a constant feature, but a whole who’s who of female singers, all with a Les Mis pedigree, have provided the glamour and singing ability. The more recent tours have added Katie Leeming to the regulars, but for the first time I saw Sarah Ryan as part of the lineup.

From the opening strains of ‘The Heat is On’ from MIss Saigon right through to the final notes of ‘One Day More’ the quality of the production engulfed the vast Alhambra auditorium gathering one and all in the atmosphere. Ensemble numbers, duets or solo performances it didn’t matter, each was superbly delivered and the set up links delivered by David Fawcett struck the right note of being informative yet not taking down the atmosphere one iota.

The material was wide ranging, Miss Saigon, Phantom, Blood Brothers, Chess,Evita, Beauty and the Beast and The Jersey Boys were just some of the stops along the journey before of course the piece de resistance, their Les Miserable finale.

Having seen there performances over the years I knew this heralded the end of the show was close, but how could this be? I’d only been enjoying their performance for a short while it seemed, in truth nearly two hours in fact, but the time just flew by.

It would be difficult to say they are by far and away the best performers of this type of show that is on the go currently, as I haven’t seen everyone. What I can say though is if, and it is a big if, there is a better one, then they have got to be out of this world, for as far as I am concerned, and I an certainly not alone Beyond the Barricade is simply in a class of their own.

The whole gang are almost constantly on tour and future dates can be found on their web site www.beyondthebarricade.com where there is a whole raft of interesting stuff to peruse.

So bring on the next guise soon please folks, I’ll be looking for them to return to my area so as able to enjoy them all over again.

For details on future shows at Dunfermline’s Alhambra vist their website www.alhambradunfermline.com

 

Reviewed by Geoff