EMOTIONS ran incredibly high at St Clere's School in Stanford-le-Hope this evening (Wednesday, 30 March) at the culmination of the first night of the St Clere's Players' production of Hairspray.

Whoops of joy, hugs, tears and an explosion of passion greeted the climax of the evening as the large cast, backstage crew, and musicians basked in an ovation from an enthusiastic crowd of parents, relatives and music-lovers who had enjoyed a show right out of the top drawer.

It's been two years since the Players were last on stage at the Thameside Theatre with a production of Oliver. Many who saw that probably doubted it could be surpassed but there was something extra special about this return to the boards by the students.

They were forced out of the Thameside by the meanness of show licence holders Musical Theatre International who would not allow the students to use a theatre because there is a professional touring production of the show on in Kent. Bah Humbug!

But do you know what – they did us all a favour! The beat certainly did go on inside the main hall at St Clere's where a professional lighting show, a superb professional orchestra, top tech and impressive scenery made it feel like a proper theatre.

But what was really special were the kids. Hairspray is a show with a great message. It tackles the issue of racial discrimination and of growing up head on and even if some cynics might describe it as too sugar-coated, it delivers an emotional rollercoaster through wonderful songs and witty dialogue. And the cast of St Clere's delivered all those qualities and more.

The sheer joy of performing shone through from the opening bars to the tumultuous ending when the celebrations from the cast who had just left the stage clearly indicated their passion. They were able to release all the pent-up emotions of two years of frustration and covid that has made their senior school years among the most difficult in memory.

Spare a thought for the teachers too. Head of music and the show's musical director Felicity Squire lost her father to covid. Head of performing arts and the show's inspirational director Lee Brown lost both his parents. Imagine the strain of that and the pressure of still giving every available moment to help so many young people!

These are real heroes and I hope the joy and thanks they are getting back from the students who clearly adore them and respect their commitment is some small return for what they too have gone through to keep our kids on track. This show is a composite tribute to everything that is good about teaching!

Mr Brown shared some of his emotions in his programme notes and, with usual modesty, put his thanks to parents and carers to the fore.

He wrote: "I must say a huge 'thank-you' to the parents of those involved in this show. To get to this point Miss Squire and I have asked a lot from the students, and by return all of you.

"Thank-you for being the taxi-driver, the psychologist, the cheerleader and most of all thank you for encouraging your child to stick with it.

"Resilience is talked about a lot – you won't find any more resilient children than these.

"Of course I also need to thank our headteacher and senior leadership team who always show incredible support and investment in giving our children the best chance to participate in events like this. It's about time we all had a good time again."

And certainly those of us packed into the hall tonight had a good time. I'm sorry to say if you haven't got a ticket then you will miss out because the remaining shows tomorrow and Friday are sold out. And the matinee on Friday will delight youngsters from the area's primary schools. As well as giving the understudies their moment in the spotlight.

Speaking of understudies brings me to the leading roles. I hesitate to single anyone out. This show is the sum of all its parts and it's an incredibly strong cast with amazing talent. But there are a couple of people who deserve that extra mention. Aoife Connelly already has musical theatre credits to her name at venues like the Palladium and the Royal Opera House. As lead character Tracy Turnblad she finds herself in a role at St Clere's that suits her talents in every way.

Freddie Bullen as Edna Turnblad turned in an amazing performance that drew applause and laughter from a special visitor in the audience who knows first hand everything there is to know about the role. Stanford's very own Phill Jupitus, who played Edna in the West End, was on hand to see a family member in the cast and no doubt Freddie's comic performance will have brought back many memories for him.

I could go on through the cast but there are too many fine individual performances to pick out.

One of the beauties of Hairspray is that it is a true ensemble piece with around a dozen lead performers getting solo spots in the limelight. I'm a dad of one of them so I have to declare an interest here but as a reviewer it would make no difference if I wasn't personally connected. A casual onlooker would enjoy this show, just as much as a proud parent.

And, like me, they couldn't fail to be impressed by the stunning choreography throughout the show. This is a big cast and a small stage but dynamic imagination and damned hard work by the cast saw every centimetre used to the full with truly delightful routines.

To sum up, as almost every reviewer of Hairspray does, I will fall back on (and repeat) the cliché 'The beat goes on at St Clere's'. Thank goodness it does. Hairspray is a credit to all concerned and, as the illustrious Mr Brown said - 'we needed a good time again'.