Sister Act – UK Tour

Rating: ★★★★★

Where soul music meets sainthood, funk meets faith, and looking fine meets communion wine – Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy has blessed the Storyhouse Theatre in Chester, and us, its congregation. The catalyst of our tale based on the 1992 film classic of the same name comes from the clash of worlds between the restrictive convent and the wild stardom of our protagonist Deloris Van Cartier, played tremendously by Landi Oshinowo. The combination of these aesthetics is on show right as you come into the theatre with bright neon signs encircled by a gothic stone arch, and at its peak, three glistening disco balls. We hear a packed house take their seats as a saxophone  warms up over soul music. The announcements are made, the live music begins to play, and we’re transported from keys, reeds, and drum beats to the toll of a church bell.

For those unfamiliar, Sister Act is the story of a lounge singer plunged into witness protection after seeing a murder in 1977 Philadelphia. Our lead diva Deloris is taken to a convent of nuns to disguise herself and lay low until she can testify in court. However, the lifestyle of the modest nuns and the sensibilities of the autocratic Mother Superior (played superbly by Wendi Peters) is not quite what she was hoping for. What follows is a true spectacle of musical numbers when Deloris joins the churches choir.

On the topic of the music (by Alan Menken with lyrics by Glenn Slater), I feel I should note how hard it is for such great performers to sound bad on purpose. After all, we must see the improvement these nuns achieve under Deloris’s tutelage to truly value the choral extravaganza that follows – but I was impressed because even the disharmony was precise. And when the cast start to sing for real and the characters raise their voice, they have every bit of talent and skill you could expect and more. Each song was more impressive than the last, leading to applause in between and a standing ovation after the finale.

The cast was marvelous; I didn’t expect to enjoy the supporting roles as much as I did with only my experience of the original film to go off. A stand-out hit of the show was police officer Eddie ‘Steady Eddie’ Souther played by Alfie Parker. His character’s charming and genuine optimism made him a favourite amongst the audience with a costume change that I won’t spoil for you but trust me, is comedy gold. A performance that personally delighted me was Isabel Canning’s Sister Mary Patrick who had an infectious grin that lasted the whole show. To see this woman restricted by her station, come out of her shell and just have a good time, was a good time for me to watch.

There may be a percentage of the people reading this that hold the original film dearly to their hearts, and to those people I say: don’t threat, you’re going to love this. It has laughs, lights, sequins, and delights aplenty. This show lives up to its promise of a divine musical comedy. I laughed: check. I clapped my hands and tapped my feet: check. I was blessed: check. And after the show… well, Isaiah 55:12 says it best: “You shall go out with joy…”.

Sister Act is a FIVE STAR show and is playing at the Chester Storyhouse til Saturday 29th June, after which it will continue it’s tour across the UK.

Book tickets at storyhouse.com