REVIEW | Let The Sun Shine, Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre - Chester

Harry Brogan
Jul 25
4 min read

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Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre is back for its 16th summer season, and 10th in partnership with Chester’s main theatre, Storyhouse, with Let The Sun Shine being one of the 3 shows on offer for theatre goers this summer. Let The Sun Shine is a show set in a little village in the summer of 1969, with a revolution taking place alongside a festival that has taken over the village farm, to raise funds to save it. Through the festival, there is a lot of music, as expected, and people change as a result of its hidden motive, but will this be for the better or not?

As always with a Grosvenor Park show, everything has to work in the round. The 8 rows of seats within the circular shape make the theatre rather unique, and intimate, for both audiences and creatives. Challenges from the external environment had to be considered by Dan Langton, the sound designer of Let The Sun Shine, on top of this, to ensure that audiences were able to hear the actors as well as the instruments used throughout the show, and he managed to get the balance perfect. Despite the park being situated just opposite a main road connecting one side of Chester to another, Langton managed to ensure that the sound levels achieved with the musical instruments were at a level in which the audience were engrossed by the sounds of the different instruments that were there, and could also hear the singing and acting alongside it. Ieuan Reeve was the lighting designer for this particular production, and whilst most of the show took place throughout daylight, this was still effective, especially to dictate the changes in weather, and overall ambience of the festival. Costumes, made by Liza Ashby, Christy Reeve, Megan Tetlow and Emma Crossland were also to an incredibly high standard, and it was easy to distinguish between each character, and when some of the cast changed roles throughout the show.

Alongside the more technical elements, a mention has to go to the writer and producer of Let The Sun Shine, Helen Redcliffe. The attention to detail Redcliffe has put in the show is nothing but outstanding, and the research that has gone into both experiences in festivals, and in the late 1960s is second to none. The mix of more serious moments (and characters at times) alongside the more joyous moments ensured there was a perfect balance of emotions throughout, keeping audiences entertained. Alongside this, Redcliffe made it really easy within her story to be able to distinguish between all of the characters easily, making the story run really smoothly, keeping quality throughout the 2 hour show. An aspect of production that she has created that I enjoyed, alongside Co-Directors Rob Green and Lucy Thatcher, was the audience interactions throughout, giving an extra dimension to the show, which is rarely seen in live theatre, or done to the success that Redcliffe, Green and Thatcher have managed to put together.

In addition to the storyline that Redcliffe provided, the casting was to an incredibly high standard. Annabelle Aquino and Lucas Button, who played Cloud and Harry, led the company as if they have been leading actors for years, and had such a positive influence on their fellow actors, who were all actor-musos, forming a part of the live band that were used throughout the show. Aquino’s vocals stunned throughout, especially at the end of Act One, with Cloud’s standout moment throughout the whole show, showing female empowerment, which was a rarity in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but was perfect for the themes displayed through Redcliffe’s writing. Another two standouts for me were Zoe Lambert as Viper, and Kate Milner-Evans as Joan, playing two other empowering women incredibly, alongside Lambert playing the accordion - a musical instrument very rarely played in the theatre.

I can’t mention the cast without mentioning the two incredible trainee actors that have come through Storyhouse’s Young Company. Owen Ellis and Lauren Lees were amazing assets to the company, and the standard they held throughout the show highlighted the significance of the company to the local community. Lees has made her professional stage debut in Let The Sun Shine; the professionalism she carried throughout was second to none, making everything seem effortless, and as if she has been in the industry for years. Both Ellis and Lees have a bright future, and will no doubt add a lot to the industry.

Once again, a Storyhouse Original Production has highlighted the brilliance of original work, and the importance of Storyhouse to the theatre community of the North West, being a key producing venue, and the usage of Grosvenor Park to highlight the strength of their producing talents is evident.

Let The Sun Shine is a splendid piece of theatre, which isn’t to be missed throughout the summer, with every person involved - both on a technical level and on stage - creating something where people can escape for a couple of hours, and enjoy some theatre that will be hard to replicate in terms of balancing joy and empowerment.

★★★★★

Let The Sun Shine plays at the Grosvenor Park Open Theatre until 23rd August as part of Storyhouse In The Park: https://www.storyhouse.com/whats-on/let-the-sun-shine/