Established in 1961, The Adelaide Gang Show is a training activity program of the Performing Arts Section of Scouts Australia (SA Branch), providing youth members of Scouts and Guides with practical experience in performance and stagecraft in a variety show context. Noting that Scouting and Guiding is an international movement, it has been said that a Gang Show is performed somewhere in the world every night. What a tradition!
In their 64th season, The Adelaide Gang Show’s current show is entitled Next Stop! The cast and crew is enormous. On stage there are in excess of fifty performers of varying age and experience, but all with buckets of passion and commitment. They are not fully named in the program, and so it is not possible to make specific reference to any of them in this review. The program does name the individuals who work behind the scenes, and there are scores of them!
Having a variety show format, with numerous diverse songs, dances and vaudevillian routines, there isn’t a compelling narrative that holds it all together, and nor is it really necessary. That said, Next Stop! loosely follows a group of Scouts and Guides who are on their way to an event, but they miss the bus and decide to make their own way to their intended destination. As they do so, through the town of Happyville (well named!), they encounter all manner of distinctive people and happenings, ranging from a carwash that comes to life, a panoply of clowns emerging from a car that has Tardis-esque properties (with apologies to Dr Who fans!), gossiping restaurant workers, feuding customers in a supermarket, an Aussie music festival, grain farmers battling greedy and marauding crows, teens battling it out in a mosh pit, and an exotic zoo.
Artistic Director Thomas Laing with the assistance of Musical Director/ Conductor Eloise Neumann have selected in excess of thirty songs – some better known than others – and have woven them through the show. Many of the songs have complex rhythmic structures that challenge novice singers, and some of the older members of the cast handle the task well. It’s almost exhausting keeping up with it all, and the extensive finale perhaps could have been trimmed, but it’s really a case of sitting back and letting the fun, colour and excitement wash all over you.
The enthusiastic large cast reap the benefits of being allowed to ‘have a go’, which they do with almost unbridled passion and joy, and their supporters in the audience just delight in it to the extent that some sing along and join in the simple dance steps (choreographed by Akacia Vanmali) while remaining seated (sort of!). While many of the cast are not skilled performers – indeed, some look ‘uncomfortable’ on stage – their fledgling talents are eclipsed by their huge smiles and eagerness to do as well as they possibly can. They all epitomise the lyrics of the song Love My Life (made popular by Robbie Williams) that is sung as part of the extended finale: “I love my life / I am powerful / I am beautiful / I am free”, and it brings a beaming smile to every face in the audience that lingers after the show is over.
As ever, an enormous effort has gone into producing the bright and colourful Gang Show set that transitions relatively smoothly (if not always quickly) from one scene to another. In particular, the Zoo setting is spectacular with its detailed projected back drop augmented with physical trimmings and a fabulously costumed cast.
John Clarke, Chief Commissioner for Scouts SA (South Australia), sums it all up perfectly in his message of welcome: “The Gang Show continues to be a proud tradition – offering not just entertainment, but also opportunities for personal growth, learning, and the building of lifelong friendships. It’s a celebration of fun, energy, and positivity, made possible by the passion and commitment of everyone on stage and behind the scenes.”
Well said Mr Clarke, and if Scouting and Guiding have got anything to do with it, the future appears to be in safe hands.
