Choir at Chichester’s Minerva Theatre – review

In the programme notes for Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s new play, we are told that an estimated 2.8 million people are now part of a choir of some description in this country. That’s a pretty extraordinary figure when choirs traditionally were once only really understood to be church choirs or stuffy orchestral accompaniment. Now though, I would guess that there are not many of us who don’t know someone connected to this newfound musical pastime. So, what is the appeal?

Bhatti is clear that it is about a sense of community and belonging and that, whilst music is good for the soul, friendship and a sense of togetherness are the strongest bond of all. It makes for a rich source of narrative to draw from, and an endlessly colourful palette of characters from all walks of life to play with.

This gentle comic stroll through the lives of the members of the Morgan Jackson People’s Choir is immensely well-meaning and warm-hearted. The small community choir, brought together by Morgan (Laura Checkley), a former singer herself who never quite made it professionally, is made up of an eccentric band of emotionally fragile characters, all revelling in the non-judgemental space of the choir room.

As they come together to perform a charity concert for a local boy who wants to be able to train to become a professional singer, the pressure is cranked up a notch when a TV appearance becomes part of the plan. Questions around why they sing bubble to the surface, and it becomes apparent that it is not about TV stardom or the adulation of an audience.

Hannah Joss directs with an assured clarity and intersperses the action with dreamlike musical moments that shake off the inhibitions and see the choir belt out numbers from the likes of Queen, Amy Winehouse and Primal Scream. They are each inevitably well delivered and demonstrate some brilliantly harmonious singing from the small company of eight on stage.

In exploring the relationships of the choir though, there is not enough flesh on the bones in Bhatti’s writing. Backstories are absent and, beyond the colourful eccentricities of each, there is little emotional connection. There is plenty of very witty writing, however – a joke about Prince Andrew gets a particularly big reaction – and there are some wonderfully comic moments as the disparate group comes together.

Morgan’s best mate Paul (James Gillan) is a sassy, gay man with a heart of gold who steps up to the plate to protect his brood. Ken (Timothy Speyer) is an absent-minded, older man who is fending his way through life now that his wife has left him and is not averse to a bit of Beyoncé. Best friends Esther (Danielle Henry) and Joy (a brilliantly potty-mouthed Alison Fitzjohn) squabble like siblings, whilst Sheila (a fabulously offbeat Annie Wensak) compulsively lies and steals in an albeit good-natured and instantly forgivable way – “her mother was killed in an armed robbery before she was born”!

Keenan Munn-Francis is full of youth and baffled innocence as the young Freddie at the heart of the fundraising and Danusia Samal plays the meekly understated Anna, the only person to really approach a personal story of any great depth with glimpses into a rocky personal life.

It’s an entirely amiable and altogether charming evening. The warmth that shines through encapsulates the connections that people make in attending these choirs. The musical moments are fab and Anisha Fields’ familiar feeling community centre set design is the perfect fit, but ultimately a bit more pathos would add the final flourish to an otherwise whimsical evening.